Well, my son had a little excitement on campus tonight.

[Jenny in Florida]

I was at work, but my husband got a call from our son letting him know that there had been some kind of leak/flood that began on the top floor of his dorm this evening. The administration made everyone leave for a while and then let them return in phases by different doors to check on their rooms and belongings.

 

The rumor, although I have no idea whether it's accurate, is that a couple of students were tossing a ball around in a hallway on the top floor and a wild throw hit and broke off a fire sprinkler. The resulting flow apparently spread at least some water onto nearly every floor. 

 

Fortunately, our son was in class when this happened and had his laptop, phone and other necessaries with him. Still, we were a little worried about some sentimental items he had in his room.

 

As it turned out, though, all was well. From what he could tell once he was allowed back in, his room was untouched by the water. 

 

So, whew. 

 

 

[creekland]

Glad his room/stuff ended up ok and hopefully a few more students have learned another thing from their college experience (that thing we tried to teach them about playing ball indoors)!

[bettyandbob]

When I was in college an administrator explained the move to coed dorms in practical terms. It tones down the behavior the males and the result is less building damage. At the time brother attended a large university in another part of the state that had not moved to coed dorms. He had stories of people purposely flooding halls so they could have an indoor slip and slide.

[G5052]

When I was in college an administrator explained the move to coed dorms in practical terms. It tones down the behavior the males and the result is less building damage. At the time brother attended a large university in another part of the state that had not moved to coed dorms. He had stories of people purposely flooding halls so they could have an indoor slip and slide.

 

Exactly.  When I was the head RA at a small state college, 80% of our problems were in the all-male dorms.  And yes, the only student-related flooding incidents were also only on the male dorms while I was in charge.  The worst one involved a urinal that was ripped off the wall.  The plumbing sprayed for hours before anyone called.

 

Nothing has changed in 30 years.

[vonfirmath]

Exactly.  When I was the head RA at a small state college, 80% of our problems were in the all-male dorms.  And yes, the only student-related flooding incidents were also only on the male dorms while I was in charge.  The worst one involved a urinal that was ripped off the wall.  The plumbing sprayed for hours before anyone called.

 

Nothing has changed in 30 years.

 

One of the dorms I lived in had deliberately been changed from all-male to all-female because of the reputation it'd gotten was causing problems even when they completely turned over the guys who lived there.

 

[Jenny in Florida]

It's funny you mention that motivation for the change to co-ed dorms. I read several books a few years ago about the history of single-sex K-12 education, and one of the reasons that is frequently cited for the move to putting boys and girls in the same classrooms is that the presence of girls "civilizes" the boys. It's a trade-off, because girls often do better academically in single-sex classes, but it's perceived as better for teachers and schools to have the genders integrated.

[unsinkable]

I expected something much worse, like criminal in nature.

 

There was a serious crime on my son's campus and that's where my mind went. The victim was shaken up but did not have serious physical injuries, thank goodness.

[Jenny in Florida]

I expected something much worse, like criminal in nature.

 

There was a serious crime on my son's campus and that's where my mind went. The victim was shaken up but did not have serious physical injuries, thank goodness.

 

Oh, no! I'm so sorry to hear that. 

 

No, it was a little nerve wracking while we waited for my son to get back into his room to check for damage, but in the end it turned out to be just a minor inconvenience for him.

[unsinkable]

Oh, no! I'm so sorry to hear that.

 

No, it was a little nerve wracking while we waited for my son to get back into his room to check for damage, but in the end it turned out to be just a minor inconvenience for him.

I'm sorry. I don't want to minimize what happened with your son's situation. Water damage is awful.

 

I'm glad he didn't have any damage!