Staff Editorial: Harrison water problems again

This is getting ridiculous.

The water problems in Harrison College House which started off as annoying have become decidedly painful. Residents have sent countless e-mails to administraters and facilities workers expressing their frustration, and for now the water appears to be once again up and running. Whether or not it lasts remains to be seen.

Waking up to a shower of paralyzing, bone-chilling cold is not only incredibly unpleasant, but given the current record-breaking cold weather, seems downright unhealthy.

However, in retrospect, it is better than waking up to no water at all -- a situation that Harrison residents found themselves in this weekend. For the amount that students pay to live in the college house system, they simply shouldn't have to be kept guessing as to whether their water will be freezing, or whether they will have any water at all.

What is almost as breathtaking as the cold, however, is the bureaucratic indifference that the attempts to solve these problems have been met with.

It is understandable that the unbearably cold weather plays a certain amount of havoc with the pipes. But the situation got out of hand, and none of the people who have jurisdiction over it seemed inclined to take responsibility and explain to students the circumstances that dictated the water failures.

Given the fact that the current cold temperatures seem unlikely to leave us any time in the near future, it is possible that similar problems could arise again. Hopefully they won't, but if they do, it would be ideal if facilities and College House administrators worked together to keep the students properly informed of the problems, as well as the efforts to fix them. Properly functioning water systems are the first wish, but in lieu of that, fair warning and a lack of merciless morning e-mail surprises would best serve house residents.

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