If weather reports are any indication, the city of Boston might finally emerge today from the miserable deluge through which its been suffering for the past few days. And while the sunlight might cure the waterlogged bodies of saturated residents, the idea that the biggest city in New England &-&- notorious for its unpredictable weather &-&- and a major university could barely keep their nuts and bolts in place through a fairly routine rainstorm is a huge concern.
By Monday afternoon at Boston University, giant tarps that descended from the ceiling at the Warren Towers dining hall ,meant to control leaks, resembled paratroopers caught in a jungle canopy. Sleeper Hall suffered wind damage to its roof and Student Village 1 &-&- barely ten years old &-&- saw water trickle down from residential ceilings. All of this, a week after students were told to cough up about four percent more next year for dorms and apartments that can’t seem to keep their inhabitants dry. Even The Daily Free Press’ office ceilings looks like they are a mere poke or prod away from erupting tide pools onto computer systems. And yes, BU owns the space.
A matter of weeks after Boston was shut down for a non-storm and BU sent slews of warnings en masse for the snow that never came, it seems strange that when the roof above the heads of some students and residents actually started to fall apart, not every student across campus was informed. Surely, the possibility of damage to the place in which someone lives is more pertinent information than the idea that snow might or might not fall, or that School of Management students might have to spend two fewer hours in class or at Breadwinners than they might normally. Moreover, the campus survived one of the wettest summers in recorded history in 2009 &- how could three days of moderate rainful possibly catch these buildings and their maintenance plans so far off-guard?
Evidenced by the plastic that now adorns the innards of BU buildings and the scrapes and scars cut through their facades, it’s clear that action taken against weather damage here has been made with a “quick-fix” mentality. But Boston is going to continue to be a city that dumps bucketfuls during sunshine and sees hail after heat waves. If BU didn’t know this was the standard already, it needs to learn quickly, and it needs to adapt accordingly.
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