BEN LESCHENSKY; News Writer; leschebj@plu.edu
If you’re a resident of Tingelstad Hall, you might have been dealing with a lot of issues the past couple weeks. Between elevators, leaking water and a fire, the facilities within the hall have faced many problems recently.
There have been recent reports of flooding within Tingelstad, with the majority of the reports being from the southwest side of the building.
According to Raymond Orr, Associate Vice President of Facilities Management, this side of the building gets the brunt of the weather when storms roll through the area. Surrounding the building on the inside is an “envelope” that traps the water and prevents it from leaking into rooms. However, the envelope within Tingelstad is deteriorating and beginning to show its age.
According to Rebecca Rumpza of Residential Life, these leaking problems have occurred before, especially when big storms come through.
These leaking problems aren’t going unnoticed, however. Facilities conducted a study last year and will be bringing it to a contractor to get a price estimate on how much it would cost to fix the problem (especially on the southwest corner). It isn’t a cheap repair, so the focus will be on doing small scale repairs on the troublesome spots now and then work on other parts of the building as time and money allow.
One of the more frustrating problems for students has been the elevator issues that have been occurring throughout the year. First-year student Jordan Smith, who lives on the 8th floor of the building, voiced his frustration, saying “it’s disappointing that the elevators are down because it’s more of a hassle for everybody, especially those living on the top floors.”
According to Orr, the elevators are in the process of modernization. The elevators are very old, so they must be updated for safety and different inspections. Elevator work was set to begin in accordance with the University’s fiscal year (which began June 1). However, there wasn’t enough time to make the parts and fix the elevators during the summer, which is why they are being attended to now. Orr stated that “it’s inconvenient having an elevator or two down, especially two, but we do want to make sure it’s safe.”
While old age and modernization are part of the reason the elevators have been out of use, student use of them plays a role. Tingelstad Hall Director Maggie Hendrickson reminds students that they should be conscientious about how they are using the elevators by not overloading them, jumping in them or holding the doors open for extended periods of time.
Students have a quick and easy option to report issues if one arises. By opening the Pacific Lutheran University Facilities website, students can fill out a report detailing the issue. If a problem occurs in the dorm, Hendrickson says “students can either go to their Resident Assistant on duty or go to the front desk, then that’ll start the communication chain.”
