BRIEF: March to protest student's murder

For the first time in more than forty years, the basement of Butcher is not full of freshmen. Residential Living Director Gigi Simeone said the bottom level of the Quadrangle dormitory building is closed because of problems created by water leaks. Simeone denied claims that the hall has been condemned, though. According to Simeone, the rooms were not assigned to students because of the flooding problems caused last year by the "particularly severe winter weather." Last winter, the University shut down for three days because of heavy snow and ice and subzero temperatures. Simeone said the exact cause of the problem is very complicated, but she assured students that her department will look at the situation very closely during the course of this year. At this point, however, she said she has no estimate about how much the repairs will cost or what they will entail. Several students who experienced the floods last winter said they feel that Simeone's action did not come soon enough. Although many students filed complaints about the flooding problems, they said the water never cleared up to their satisfaction. "We called the health department and Physical Plant, but they never fixed the problem," said Nursing sophomore Kelly Hauth, a former Butcher resident. Other students complained that the flooding was potentially toxic, and cited health problems to back up their claims. "It seemed as if people were sick more than they should have been just from breathing that stuff," said former Butcher resident Kristen Dang, a College sophomore. Residents of the Speakman section of the Quad had similar complaints. "I don't understand why they even had people living down there because it's really a health hazard," said College sophomore Samantha Smithson, a former Speakman resident . Unlike Butcher, students are living in the Speakman basement this year. Hauth agreed with Smithson. "I don't think anyone should have to live in that situation," she said. Several former residents said the Speakman basement should have been closed down as well. According to former Speakman resident Amy Richards, there was a continual flood in the "moat area" between the two halls. The College sophomore said that there was more flooding in the Speakman basement than in the Butcher basement. "It doesn't make sense how they closed down the Butcher basement and not the Speakman basement," Richards said. Simeone would not comment about why Speakman had not been closed down.

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