All students have moved back into their townhouses after water damage had forced them to leave. In September, four townhouses were affected by water damage that happened in unrelated incidents. Students in three of those townhouses had to be placed into temporary housing around campus while the damage in their houses was fixed. 

Students in houses 15, 16 and 32 were all placed into rooms around Martin, North, Elm and Alumni Halls. Many students chose to find their own housing instead of living with strangers. Some commuted, while some even stayed in their cars for a period of time. Pace provided students with $200 flex money and $100 of extra flex money for every week they were not in their houses. All students eventually moved back in by September 26th. 

David Gavilan, who lives in townhouse 32 with the Alpha Chi Epsilon fraternity, was one student who was living the self-titled “nomadic” lifestyle.

“The moral that we had when we were homeless was depressing and every day it got even worse,” Gavilan said. “Since we got the house back the moral has been high hopes and colorful dreams for the boys. The future is looking bright.” 

Prior to students returning to campus, room checks were done to make sure every room and houses were in working order for the start of the school year. No problems arose with any houses, relating to water problems, during those checks. Aisha Moyla, the Director of Business, Planning, and Communications for Facilities and Capital Projects says students should report problems with their housing as soon as possible to prevent future problems. 

“The best thing that can be done to prevent future problems is for students to report any facilities-related condition problems so we can address them in a timely way before a larger problem possibly develops,” Moyla stated. “Facilities conduct regular maintenance checks every summer. Any work that is needed to upkeep the townhouse community is completed. Every room is thoroughly checked by facilities and capital projects and residential life and housing.”

Understandably, many of the students who were forced out of their housing were not happy with the whole situation. Some were even considering taking legal action.

“Some of the other houses were considering legal action, but as for us we tried to stay humble about the whole experience,” Gavilan said.