Alexis Bernal

Several sections of the Polytechnic United Methodist Church have been taped off due to the recent flooding.

The Polytechnic United Methodist Church (PUMC) experienced flooding on both its first and second floors due to a toilet supply line failure in the second-floor women’s bathroom.  

PUMC houses several classrooms as well as the offices of professors in the School of Arts and Sciences. The flooding, which took place on Sunday afternoon, March 24, led to the cancellation of classes held in the building and forced professors to vacate their offices to allow for clean-up. 

“Yesterday [Sunday March 24] afternoon around 4 or 4:30, the security people were walking into the building and that’s when they noticed that the toilet intake was just spilling out, probably for about two hours,” said Dr. Christopher Ohan, associate professor of history.

First Restoration, a water removal and mitigation company, was hired to handle the clean-up. After extracting the water, the company set up dehumidifiers and fans throughout the PUMC to dry the building so that university operations could resume as normal and to prevent the growth of mold.  

Despite the flooding, the university did not send out formal communication to notify students, faculty and staff in a timely manner.  

“I had to cancel my 9:30 class at the last minute,” said Dr. Kay Colley, professor of mass communication.

A report was sent out to the School of Arts and Sciences faculty detailing the extent of the damage to each respective office. Brian Franks, executive director of facilities, was on site the day of the flooding to assess and mitigate damages. 

“Building damage is limited due to the concrete construction type,” Franks said. “Minor loss of building contents has been reported.” 

Classes resumed as scheduled on Tuesday, March 25. However, most professors have yet to move back into their offices. Colley’s office, which contained various media equipment, was among the most damaged. 

“This afternoon when I came back from class, they had taken everything from my office and moved it into the center, and they were ripping off the baseboards,” Colley said.

Students and faculty remain wary of the long-term effects the flooding may cause. Selina Humphrey is a program assistant in the Engage Studio (PUMC 125) and expressed her concern.  

“Things are still being assessed because we don’t know what sort of long-term damage there might be,” Humphrey said. 

When asked, workers at First Restoration recommended a full replacement of the carpet in the PUMC second floor. The university has yet to put forth any formal plans for a replacement.  

“My understanding is that they’re not going to replace it [the carpet] which is not going to be good,” Colley said.