Both Chapman and Sutton were in New York City during the break. When Chapman returned to campus at the long weekend's conclusion, the damage was immediately obvious. "The first thing I noticed when entering my hallway was the smell," Chapman said.
It soon became apparent that the odor stemmed from Chapman's room. Water dripping from the ceiling had pooled on her carpet, leading to the growth of mold. Her dressers, and their contents, were also saturated.
Chapman immediately called the College's physical plant, but she said the matter was not addressed until she had called back a third time. When physical plant staff finally arrived, Chapman said their labor was cosmetic and not corrective. "They shampooed [my carpet] and put a dehumidifier in my room," Chapman said. "No one ever came to take care of my walls."
The rains returned in full force the next weekend, and the room began to leak once more from the ceiling and walls. Chapman's calls to the physical plant went unanswered-physical plant was closed for the weekend-and she continued to sit on her bed, working, until finally the puddle of water accumulating on the bed became too large to ignore.
Chapman phoned Campus Police, and they responded by sending an officer. The officer, in turn, called a carpenter, who set up a tarp in the room positioned so as to siphon the water from the ceiling into a bucket. Both men then departed. Chapman, whose bed was by this time soaked, inquired with her resident counselor, Steve Miller '07, about moving into a new dorm room.
She was relocated by Campus Police to a room in Moore Dormitory. Although Chapman initially thought the move would be temporary, Administrative Assistant for Residential Life Emily Cachiguango surveyed the room in North later that week and determined it to be uninhabitable. By Oct. 14, the College had found both students new rooms to live in for at least the rest of the semester.
In its short history, the renovated North building-room 417 in particular-has experienced a number of structural problems since last year. Since its completion in August 2004, water damage has been an ongoing concern for residents. Alex Pacheco '08, who occupied the room last year, had an experience similar to that of this year's inhabitants'. "The ceiling of my room leaked on three separate occasions," he said. "I was surprised that a new dorm would have such faulty construction."
Teddy Fan '08, who roomed with Pacheco in North last year agreed. "The first heavy rain damaged the wall on my roommate's side of the room [last year]," said Fan. "He woke up when the water-which was collecting in a bubble above his head-burst all over his bed."
"It just seems a bit ridiculous that a brand-new building would be so easily damaged by water, of all things," said Matt Herman '09, a first-floor North resident.
It is, however, the newness of the building that has perhaps contributed to the damage. The renovations were made with historical accuracy in mind, and the copper roofs and fake chimney located immediately above room 417 have likely had a hand in the building's permeability. "I know that they had historical landmark restrictions when renovating the building and from what I understand, the problem stemmed from not correctly covering up the fake chimney they had above our room," said Fan. "But after having this problem repeatedly last year, I would have expected them [the College] to address this problem by now."
Repeated calls to physical plant were unanswered.