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The Rice Thresher
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by Elizabeth Jardina Thresher editorial staff
The safety mechanism at the base of the crane bent at about 9:30 a.m., sending the crane vertical and making the counterbalances that normally hold the crane upright useless. For four hours, the 120-foot crane was held up only by the wires that normally raise and lower it. The crane, part of the construction of new Wiess College just behind the Hanszen commons, was being used to put roofing material on new Wiess Commons. The Hanszen kitchen was evacuated immediately because it was directly in the potential path of the crane's fall. The Rice Crisis Management Team was alerted to the situation, and in consultation with construction supervisors, they decided to evacuate Hanszen New Section at about 10 a.m. The team is a group of high-level administrators who coordinate efforts to respond to large-scale emergency situations. Food and Housing employees and Rice Emergency Medical Technicians went door to door telling students they had to leave their rooms. Police officers and EMTs kept students from returning to their rooms and from entering the lacrosse field, which is behind the construction site. Construction supervisors brought in a backup crane to lower the unstable crane safely. Students were allowed to re-enter their rooms by 2 p.m., when the crane was lowered to the ground. F&H Director Mark Ditman said he couldn't predict how damaging the crane could have been. "I think the probability of the falling was low, but had it fallen, it would be an awful lot of weight to come down on any of the roofs here," he said. The crane's falling wasn't the only danger. "If it did go down, there would be debris that would be flying," University Police Chief Bill Taylor said. "It wasn't just the [crane] itself we had to worry about." Job Site Supervisor Charlie Fisher said the incident will not cause a delay in Wiess' completion, which is scheduled for August 2002. Hanszen senior Tina Snyder, who was awakened by an F&H employee and told to leave her room, said inconveniences occur frequently because of the construction. "It's just one more annoying thing the construction site does to us," Snyder said. Other students responded with good humor. After realizing they couldn't return to their rooms, a group of students ordered a keg of beer and drank it in the Hanszen quad. "Crane Day was the greatest thing that happened in Hanszen history because of the spontaneity," Hanszen senior Brad Harris said. "How often do you have a keg at 11 o'clock in the morning?"
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