West Norris Street and N. 13th Street; the corner of Annenberg Hall, Temple’s building for the School of Media and Communication. Cones, flashing signs and personnel were everywhere, guiding the students away from the mess. Pink caution tape was streamed, awaring the general public to not enter. Security guards also were guiding students around the slippery area. To avoid surroundings, security was to direct students and faculty through Buery Hall, the chemistry building. I was one of the many students who had to face this unexpected delay. It is my first year at Temple and I had no clue where to go. I had never even entered Buery Hall before, so the whole experience was new.
The water main break left what some North Philadelphians would call a swimming pool on the streets. Of course, it caused a major inconvenience for many Temple students. People were attempting to get from one place to another without getting their shoes soaked. “I was in the middle of a music theory midterm in Presser when it happened, but we finished the test anyways,” said freshman Kennedy Bruker. “I had a class later on in Presser, too, so I had to walk through the huge puddles three times. It wasn’t a complete disaster, but it was rather inconvenient.”
Photo by: The Tab Temple
A few dorms were affected by the water main break, but none as drastically as Peabody Hall. Residents had to face the problem of not having running water for most of the night. Earlier that day, I personally had difficulty with the outburst. I knew Temple University was located on the Schuylkill and Delaware River, but I didn’t know the bodies of water ended at Temple! Holly Zimmerman, a resident of Peabody, explained how the university temporarily solved the problem for the night. “Peabody was out of water for a little over 12 hours, so anyone needed to use the restroom had to go and key into 1940,” Zimmerman said.
Although this was a bother to the majority of students who lived in the building, many were pleasantly surprised to see the problem being taken care of right away. “I was amazed at how quickly the workers responded and restored water,” Zimmerman also said. “I thought I was going to have to shower in Pearson and McGonigle. We got water back around 11:30 that night.” Celia Porter, Temple graduate of 2020, also was excited to see how Facility Management tended to Wednesday’s issue. “The city definitely does everything as quickly as possible to solve the issues at Temple. The students are [definitely] the top priority,” Porter said.
Her Campus Temple was unable to receive any comment from Temple University’s facility managers.