Richard Marks, area director for the Olde Campus Upper Quad, sent an e-mail to all students living in his area Tuesday afternoon telling them about the situation, which is related to North Campus construction.
Crews are working along Raleigh Street to replace the steam line that provides hot water to many North Campus residence halls. "A lot of this is due to the construction on North Campus," Marks said. "It's not anything intentional; it's just due to the construction."
Marks said he wasn't sure of the exact nature of the construction error. But he said workers were trying to restore hot water and heat as quickly as possible. "We're just asking the residents to bear with us and be patient," Marks said.
He said the error was not limited to the residence halls immediately surrounding the construction. "The whole northern region was affected," he said. "It wasn't just the upper quad."
Rebecca Casey, assistant director of housing and residential education, said she was unaware of the lack of heat and hot water as of 4 p.m Tuesday.
Casey said she would gather information and address student concerns once she became aware of the situation.
Anna Carlton, a sophomore who lives in Ruffin Residence Hall, said she was distressed about the lack of heat in her room. "My room has no heat, and I refuse to sleep there," she said. "It's cold, and my roommate is whining."
Freshman Matt Zachek, a resident of Mangum Residence Hall, said he was particularly upset the error was a result of the construction, which he said already is inconvenient.
"I got in the shower, and normally it heats up pretty fast, but it was freezing -- I jumped in, felt it and jumped right back out," Zachek said. "I got the e-mail about how they made a mistake, and it kind of pissed me off."
