I live in Munson Hall 209, and at about 1:45 a.m. on Thursday a water pipe that run across the ceiling in my bathroom exploded. As a result my room became completely flooded in 10 minutes due to the high pressure of the water. By 2 a.m. my room was a complete disaster. The water was all over the place in the closets, living room, kitchen and bedroom. The water was extremely hot – about 130 degrees, according to the plumber. The water temperature was so high that it caused the smoke alarm to go off. My room felt like a sauna!

To add to this mess, due to the fact that the floors in Munson are not water-resistant, the water from my room dripped down to the first-floor room. Not only did room 109 also become flooded, but the beds, chairs, desk, couch and other items were soaked as water leaked from the ceiling.

Starting at about 2 a.m., community facilitators, University Police, housekeeping and a plumber tried to solve this mess. At about 2:15 a.m., as a last resort, the plumber had to shut down the water valves in Munson to stop the water from ruining my room and the room below. Finally, at 5 a.m., housekeeping was able to get rid of the water in my room, as well as the water from the room below using a water vacuum.

The plumber tried to fix the broken pipe, which in my opinion is beyond repair because it is extremely deteriorated and is bound to break again and again. My roommates and I had to sleep in our room because the University could not accommodate us anywhere else. The guys from 109 went to sleep at their friends’ place because their beds were drenched. Again, the University failed to offer any other solution.

It is unbelievable what I experienced. I would think that with the prices we pay for GW housing, the last thing to expect would be poor and dangerous living conditions. I guess students don’t get what they pay for at this University. Right now my roommates and I are trying to figure out who is liable for this mess. Many of our personal belongings were completely destroyed, and someone in this University will be held accountable for all damages to our personal property. As a result of this experience, I have lost a lot of faith and trust for this institution, Housing Services in particular.

I am shocked this disaster actually took place. This incident needs to be made public in order to force University officials to take action and to prevent incidents like this from reoccurring.-Silvana Del Carpio
senior