Tragedy struck in Brown College over Fall Break as temperatures within the dorm complex soared to a hellish 115 degrees when a heating component failed, melting posters off walls, ruining foodstuffs, and smiting one resident, Ronin - Ronin the turtle.
Corrie Hall, third-year College student and Brown College resident, returned to her room after Fall Break to find Ronin, her amphibious companion of two years, floating face up in his terrarium.
"My pet ... turtle suffered a cruel and inhumane death. I don't think anyone understands how much that turtle meant to me," Hall said.
"It was a family pet that I'd had for two years. My mother and I loved the turtle and she cried when I told her what happened," she said.
Hall said that her turtle's face was a "horrible sight to see - he had a mushed face and crinkled up" feet.
The high temperatures were caused by a faulty heat valve, which came on when the Housing Division switched the air handling system from cooling mode to the heating mode late last week.
"This was not anyone's fault ... or a prank." Director of Housing Operations Mark Doherty said.
The Housing Division first received a call Sunday from a resident complaining about the heat.
After discovering the temperature to be 115 degrees in some areas, mechanics immediately cut off the valves providing the hot water supply to the system, Asst. Housing Operations Director Burt Joseph said.
Mechanics personnel sent to Brown College buildings by the Housing Division investigated the problem with the broken heater Monday and discovered a faulty pneumatic controller.
This system operates the main control valve of the heat exchanger and its failure made it impossible to regulate the heat throughout the buildings, Joseph said.
He noted that turning the switch for the heater had no direct effect on the failed component, which already was broken.
"This was simply a mechanical failure that could not have been foreseen," he added.
Housing personnel replaced the pneumatic controller Monday and the soaring temperatures in Brown College have since returned the air to more tolerable tempratures.
Students returning to their rooms after the long weekend break came back to inconvenience and in some cases tragedy.
Many posters hanging on walls had fallen down due to the heat.
Some students reported candy and other food melted on desks or in drawers.
Hall said she has decided to bury the turtle either on the Lawn or in a garden near Brown College.
"My mother is coming up tonight for the burial. I don't think this was anyone's fault but it is awful that it happened," she said.
Other problems have developed as well as a result of this incident; students sensitive to temperature changes have complained about not being informed of the change over of the heating system.
"Certain residents were upset that they were not notified of the heat being turned on, said John Lojek, fourth-year College student and head Brown College Resident Advisor.
"We are working in the future to set up a system to notify residents when major heat changes occur," Lojek said.
"I do extend a sincere apology on behalf of Housing to the residents for the inconvenience and loss of their plants; I was also sorry to hear about the turtle," Joseph said.
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