According to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, “Since 1981, 99 of Illinois’ 102 counties have been declared by the President as major disaster areas due to flooding.”
Situated on the southeast side of the campus, Ryan Hall stands as one of the university’s oldest residential buildings. This historic structure offers 59 single rooms to its residents, providing a conducive environment for both proper living and focused study. The unique feature of these rooms is their direct view of the adjacent softball field, allowing students to enjoy the vibrant atmosphere while maintaining a tranquil study space. Ryan Hall has three floors, each of which is co-ed, fostering a diverse and inclusive community within the building.
On Jan. 14, at around 4 p.m., Ryan Hall was a victim of a damaging flooding disaster. The hall flooded due to a pipe on the second floor bursting and causing difficulties for the residents. The water trickled downwards to the basement, damaging two residential rooms that were occupied by students.
Fortunately, there were no serious damages to the belongings of the students, due to the fact that the water was at a minimal level, and caught early. . Because of the flooding, it prevented a major casualty like the one from the 2023 winter break at Cody Hall, in which students were moved to other buildings because of the massive damage that the pipes suffered due to the low temperatures.
Currently, Lewis University has decided to take a look at other buildings around the campus to make sure none of them are in need of repairs and utilize extra precautions ensuring all steps necessary to prevent this problem from happening again. Those steps include going through the walls to confirm that there are no other pipes that need to be replaced, talking to residents to confirm if they have seen anything in their own rooms, etc.
Kristen Pavitt, the Residence Life Assistance representative at Ryan Hall, shared that in response to the unfortunate incident of room flooding, affected students were offered the opportunity to relocate to alternative buildings. Despite this option being made available, both of the impacted students made the conscious decision to remain in their current rooms.
He goes on to explain that every party needed to prevent the damage from growing were swift and efficient. “We are happy that none of the residents or their personal items were affected badly,” Pavitt says. “We are happy that Sodexo came over and helped us deal with the situation.”
Pavitt explains that Sodexo came to vacuum the water that had gotten into the carpets and left it like nothing had happened. He then mentioned that facilities were quick to come and help by repairing the pipes that had suffered the damage.
Because of the swift management on which the situation was handled, Residence Life and Sodexo were able to prevent a major catastrophe that would have affected multiple parties.
Photo Credits: Katherine Groppe
