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The Rice Thresher
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by Mark Berenson Thresher Editorial Staff
It was the second time in less than a month a ceiling at Will Rice suffered structural damage. Frank Rodriguez, Housing and Dining assistant director for Facilities, said the suspected cause is chilled air hitting the ceiling, which weakens the material. Saturday night, Will Rice junior Molly Rossow returned to Room 402 in the new section of Will Rice and saw rubble spread across her entire floor, her bed and the bed of her roommate, junior Rebecca Sisson. Neither girl's belongings were damaged when the ceiling fell. Rossow said she immediately called H&D, which promised to send someone over that evening and advised her not to stay in the room. Rossow said she slept on a friend's couch Saturday night and heard reports that University Police officers had come to her room to make sure everything was going well. H&D did not make the repairs until Monday, so Rossow and Sisson both slept in friends' rooms Sunday night. Repairs were finished Wednesday, when the ceiling was repainted. "I am still a little nervous because they didn't explain to me what happened," Rossow said. During Orientation Week, a ceiling in a different Will Rice dorm room started sagging significantly, Rodriguez said. Rodriguez added the ceiling was reinforced but will not be completely repaired until students are absent. All furniture will be moved out when the repairs are made. "We've put in support beams, and they've checked and promised me that it is fine," Rodriguez said. "We are going to wait until a break when the students will be out of the room." Rodriguez said air conditioner vents at Will Rice shoot directly at the ceiling, causing condensation to form and weakening ceiling structures. Rodriguez said there are two possible solutions: putting ventilation in the attic to cool it down, or putting a cover on the air conditioning unit so the air does not hit the ceiling directly. Rodriguez said he suspects the problem will disappear as the temperatures outside drop and students stop using their air conditioners as often. Some Will Rice students said they had not thought about the dangers of their ceiling collapsing. "I'm not really worried at all," freshman Matt Hamilton said. "It hadn't really occurred to me." Others said if the air conditioning was to blame, they would use it less. "I would be more inclined not to use it as much," sophomore Mary Saunders Dilg said. "but I would hope Rice would do something about that."
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