Ruby Hall, a residence hall that houses about 400 students within Mississippi State University’s Zacharias Village, sat completely devoid Tuesday of the energetic bustle of students preparing for the start of spring semester classes.
Instead, the dorm appeared like a hotel abandoned during an emergency: third floor dorm room doors were wide open, sacks of building material were sitting in the hallway, numerous ceiling failures littered the floor, the carpet was wet and an emergency siren was wailing. On the first floor, a few MSU Department of Housing and Residence Life employees were gathering on couches.
Ruby Hall, along with Oak Hall and Magnolia Hall, all received water damage this week after sub-freezing temperatures ruptured pipes and flooded the structures. In Ruby Hall, the dorm’s fire suppression system ruptured in the unit’s B wing, causing severe damage. Similar incidents occurred in the other two dorms but produced less damage.
Ruby Hall will likely be closed for the entire spring semester, the university announced Wednesday, while repairs to Oak Hall and Magnolia Hall could be completed in a few days.
University officials originally estimated the damage would displace about 450 students from the three dorms, but new assessments released Wednesday put that figure at about 120.
MSU’s housing department will assist displaced students transition to other viable living options.
“Now, our focus is on providing personal assistance to those students who need alternative housing options, securing their possessions from damaged rooms and in helping them navigate this unexpected transition,” said Bill Kibler, MSU’s vice president for student affairs, in a release Wednesday. “As soon as the damage was discovered, we began an aggressive program of securing the facilities, launching an appropriate environmental mitigation response and making sure that we go about this clean-up in a safe and effective manner.”
Out of the 700 structures that comprise the university’s statewide infrastructure, it appears only the three on-campus residence halls experienced damage from the recent freezing temperatures, MSU Chief Communications Officer Sid Salter said in the release.
“The university is investigating the specific cause of the pipe damage, and that assessment will be thorough and exhaustive, but it’s clear at this point that the ultimate cause traces back to record single-digit cold temperatures,” he said in the release.
A call placed to Salter was not immediately returned. MSU Director of Housing and Residence Life Ann Bailey’s staff directed questions back to Salter and the MSU Office of Public Affairs.
Those students affected by the ruptures can call 662-325-3555 or email [email protected] for additional information.
Temperatures in the Golden Triangle are expected to remain above freezing through Saturday.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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