A sign in the Rev. Sean Hogan Dining Hall notifies students of ongoing repairs.
By Casey Chafin | The Duquesne Duke
Several water leaks from the ceiling in Towers dining hall during the last week are a result of an ongoing roof replacement project, according to facilities management.
Students witnessed dirty water dripping from the ceiling in several spots throughout the dining center.
Rod Dobish, executive director of facilities management, said the leaking was due to a combination of slow drainage on the roof, joints that were not made completely watertight and excess rain.
“The water was seeping into the ceiling, near the outside walls and walkways in the dining hall,” Dobish said. “The kitchen had one area that experienced some seepage, which was diverted into a sink to drain.”
Additionally, he said some dorms on the 3rd floor of the A tower experienced minor leakage.
As for the kitchen, Dobish said none of the affected areas were used for food preparation.
Simon Vullo, music major, said when he was there for dinner last week, the water was dripping steadily.
“It was like right in front of the fro-yo,” Vullo said. “You had to go past it and they had one of those giant trash cans catching the water.”
He said the workers placed a giant rectangular trash can under the dripping and it remained there for two days.
John McLoughlan, business finance major, said the water coming from the ceiling was not clean.
“The water dripping down was like an orangish-yellow, but they had it contained,” McLoughlan said.
According to Vullo, the collected water emitted strong odors.
“The trash can was full of water and it smelled terrible…,” he said. “It was pretty gross, I have to say. I mean it kind of turned me off from the fro-yo that day.”
One ceiling tile by the cereal and frozen yogurt machine was missing as a result of the water damage, and the staff has placed a sign next to the affected area attributing the problem to construction and asking people for their patience.
Abby Marotta, integrated marketing communications major, said there was another leak in the back by the pasta line when she was there for breakfast Sept. 28.
“It was a steady drip,” Marotta said. “It wasn’t enough to make the bucket overflow, but it was pretty steady.
“No [employees were] looking at the bucket,” she said. “Basically a student would have to say something if it were overflowing.”
Additionally, Vullo said he saw two smaller leaks in the rear seating section next to the swimming pool.
Dobish said the issue with the roof has been taken care of, and no more problems are expected. According to him, there have been other “minor seepage” incidents in the past, but he said that is expected for a building the age of Towers, which was built in 1970.
On Oct. 2, a student complained on Twitter about seeing a cockroach in the dining hall, which the Duquesne Dining Twitter account apologized for. According to a tweet from Duquesne Dining, the cockroach was also a result of the construction.
A sign in the Rev. Sean Hogan Dining Hall notifies students of ongoing repairs.
