Leak disrupts Blair events

A leak in the SAC disrupted Blair activities during the last two weeks of October, including the Homecoming dance, the fall play and SAT testing. The leak forced the building to close for repairs on the weekend of Nov 3.

The leak was located near the courtyard exit and could be seen dripping into a large recycling bin just two weeks ago. Building Services Manager James Brown, who was on vacation when the leak sprang, estimated that the leak had been there since the week of Oct 22. Brown said that a broken water pipe caused the leak.

Much work was involved in fixing the damage, according to Brown. "Anytime you're talking about this type of water pipe [break], an extensive amount of work is involved," he said. Brown explained that in such a process, the water has to be cut off and drained from the area and the water pressure has to be adjusted to avert future leaks.

Blair's Homecoming dance, held Oct 27, had to be moved into the gym from the SAC because of the leak, causing a problem for the SGA, according to SGA President Alfonso Rosales.

Rosales learned that the dance was to be moved from the SAC into the gym three days before Homecoming. SGA officials then had to rush to think of ways to decorate the dance in its new location, he said.

Brown said that he and his team of building services employees were not happy with the decision to move the dance to the gym either. "It meant a lot of extra work for us," he said.

Yet, despite the struggle the SGA underwent, Rosales said he was proud of the officials' cooperation and efforts to make the dance enjoyable. "The dance was an overall success regardless of the setbacks," said Rosales.

Blair's fall play, A Midsummer Night's Dream, was also affected by the leak. Instead of opening on Nov 3, the play was bumped up to Nov 1 to accommodate the closing of the building for repairs.

Students that were scheduled to take the SAT on Nov 3 at Blair had to be relocated to nearby Eastern Middle School, again due to the building closing. This move made it difficult for standby test takers to find room to take the SAT test.

Brown said that it was better to fix the leak before it got worse, regardless of the effect of repairs on Blair activities.