Classrooms Go Dark Because of Construction Crew Mishap
Classrooms went dark in about 30 buildings across campus Monday morning from about 9:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m.
The core and southwest parts of campus were out of power as a result of a construction crew cutting a high voltage power line inadvertently, said John Diamond, associate vice chancellor.
The outage affected buildings including Kimpel Hall, Walton Hall, J.B. Hunt Hall and Old Main.
As a result of the power outage, at least one test was postponed until Wednesday.
Students applauded Thomas Graff’s decision to postpone his World Regional Geography test as they waited outside the first floor Kimpel auditorium at 9:30 a.m.
“He predicted over half the class would fail the first test,” said Janna Alexander, a freshman engineering major.
“I don’t know what else to do,” Graff told the dozens of students crowding the first-floor Kimpel hallway. “All I have is to take the test Wednesday.”
Graff predicted the postponement would adversely affect grades.
“It’s going to hurt kids’ grades,” he said. “But I don’t know what else to do. I’ve never had this happen before. It’s not fair to students, but the electricity is off, so I can’t give the test.”
Class continued for some around campus. Classes in Old Main depended on natural light from the large windows.
A RazAlert was sent out to students, though some never got the notification.
The UA adopted a new system, and tested it last Tuesday in addition to today’s notification. Diamond said the statistics on who received the warning would be reviewed.
