A ceiling collapsed at the Boston University Education House on Oct. 15 due to a leak, which created living inconveniences for residents.
The Education House, located on 179 Bay State Road, is a co-ed residence available to undergraduate students in the Wheelock College of Education and Human Development.
BU Spokesperson Colin Riley wrote in an email that the collapsed ceiling in the house was caused by a leaking pipe.
“A leak in the bathroom above soaked the ceiling and a section of it fell,” Riley wrote. “Facilities staff responded to secure the area and repair the pipe and Residence Life coordinated the repair schedule with Facilities. A contractor was scheduled to install a new ceiling and make repairs.”
Piper Gilliam, a freshman in the College of Communication and resident of the Education House, said she was in her room when the ceiling collapsed.
“I just heard a huge, loud boom,” she said. “The ceiling fell in the common room and it also fell in our RA’s room, so he had to leave for a few days.”
Gilliam also spoke about the conditions of Education House after the ceiling fell.
“My bathroom is directly above where the ceiling fell and I noticed that the tiles on the ceiling of my bathroom looked like (they were sinking in) a little,” she said.
Gilliam said the collapsed ceiling made their main staircase and common room unusable.
“When it first fell, there was a lot of dust, so we had to open all the windows and it was cold, so that was really annoying,” Gillam said.
Gilliam said it took facilities about 10 days to fix the ceiling, which is currently getting painted.
“We only have four bathrooms, so when there’s a bunch of construction workers here, and you need to shower, it becomes quite a problem,” Gilliam said. “It’s also just kind of awkward having to walk around them all the time.”
Renata Feinstein, a sophomore in Wheelock College of Education and Human Development and Education House resident, said she was not informed the construction was happening.
“It was slightly startling to wake up in the morning, come downstairs and have a tent situation and then just have a bunch of adult men in the common room,” she said. “I would just really love more updates.”
Feinstein added she was unable to get more information about construction in the house when she reached out to the Residence Life Office for updates about the repairs and construction.
“I called … my ResLife office to try and get some more updates yesterday, but I haven’t heard anything,” Feinstein said.
