Union power off for second day

Whether cold, hungry, looking for guidance or in need of a bathroom, students at the William… Whether cold, hungry, looking for guidance or in need of a bathroom, students at the William Pitt Union were out of luck on Monday. Locked doors and scribbled signs for canceled meetings greeted students at the Union, which was closed for the second day in a row because of a power outage caused by a cable failure.

“My biology recitation was supposed to be here and I’m a little upset. I didn’t see any notes posted and it’s the only time I can go this week,” Deanna Moorehead said. “I think that for the Union to be closed is ludicrous.”

Moorehead said that although she was turned away Sunday night when she tried to spend meal plan blocks in the Union’s Schenley Cafe, she thought the building would be open by Monday.

Other students agreed that the loss of Schenley was troubling.

“It’s about the only place around that’s open all the time where I know I can get something decent,” C. J. Marchetti said. “Seeing as I wanted to eat there right now, it’s suddenly become an inconvenience.”

Throughout the day a steady stream of students approached the Union in order to meet friends, eat or rest between classes. Most students tried several sets of doors or stared in confusion into the dark building for a moment before turning away.

“I could always go somewhere else, but I usually like to study on the big comfy chairs,” Karla Kasievich said. “So now I have two hours to kill.”

Though the closure of the Union was just an inconvenience for most students, it created serious problems for those who have offices inside the building. Tutors from the Academic Support Center waited at the doors for a few minutes, unsure of how to contact the students they planned to tutor at their office on the Union’s third floor. Students sign up for tutoring slots on a weekly calendar and tutors, who work regularly scheduled hours, rarely know ahead of time who they’ll tutor.

“At times we hold appointments with students, and seeing as these things are timely it’s fairly important,” tutor Jasun Gong said, adding that many students schedule times to prepare for an exam or assignment the following day. “At best, we hope the student would have been notified ahead of time.”

Pitt spokesman Robert Hill said the cable failure Sunday afternoon initially cut power to many central campus buildings, including the Cathedral of Learning, Hillman Library, Bellefield Hall, Craig Hall, David Lawrence Hall, Heinz Chapel and the Union. Although power was restored within about three hours to the other buildings, the damage to the connection at the Union was more significant, he said.

“There was a 300-foot cable and when that failed, it created a big problem for the William Pitt Union,” Hill said Monday evening. “Obviously, the extent of the effect on the Union was greater than on the other buildings.”

Hill said the repair crew could not get a replacement cable until Monday afternoon and predicted that the Union might be open by 10 p.m. Monday night. He did not know the cause of the cable failure.

Many groups with scheduled meetings simply posted signs and moved elsewhere. Some meetings moved to other University buildings, like the group advising session for the College of Arts and Sciences that relocated to the ballroom in Alumni Hall.

Other groups found last-minute accommodations in Oakland businesses, like the Semester at Sea directors who held a 9 a.m. meeting at the Panera Bread Company and the World of Mongolia that met in Starbucks.

Though most students quickly left the Union to satisfy their needs elsewhere, several students remained outside the doors to meet friends for whom they had hoped to wait inside the warmth of the building.

“I was just meeting someone,” Kate Graburn said as she rubbed her arms in the 14-degree air and paced on the Union porch. “It’s just too cold to wait outdoors.”