Thea Clarkberg ’18: Why is H-Courtyard closed currently?
Jason Trumble: Currently, we have a ceiling leak, and some tiles have fallen. That’s happened in the last three days, so our maintainers have been working on that. There’s also been some ice damage. The ice gets dammed and creates problems with drainage.
TC: What caused this damage to occur?
JT: Each year, when snow melts and we get new snow, it just continues to compound, much like when we have ice in the parking lot. When we get a thaw, it tends to happen. Once we get a leak, there is a potential for the tiles to get soaking wet, and they start coming down, so it’s a safety issue.
TC: How long will H-Courtyard be closed?
JT: I hope it will open up in the next day or two, as long as we get a good day without any dripping. Once the tiles dry up and we have pretty good assurance the tiles won’t come down anymore, it will be safe.
TC: It’s kind of a funny problem to have, I have to admit.
JT: Yeah, well, it’s the reality. I equate IHS to an old house. It was built back in 1960; those are probably the original tiles, and they act like sponges anytime you have a leak, so they fill up with water. Once we get the water running the way we need it to, the leak should stop.
TC: Many people thought that this closure was punitive. Do you ever close H-Courtyard as a “punishment”?
JT: When we get a series of days where there’s just trash all over the place, and the custodians are put in a position where they are cleaning up after us, we close H-Courtyard. We’ve been pretty clear, sitting with people each period to say that we can’t have food in there. We have this beautiful campus where we can eat in Activities, or the cafeteria. We’ve got a few places to eat; we’ve had squirrels and chipmunks in H-Courtyard . . .
TC: Squirrels? No way! How do they come in?
JT: Probably through the crawl-space underneath H-Courtyard. When we leave food, it attracts animals. The fundamental piece, though, is that we’re not taking care of a privilege that we have. There’s a senior lounge, and if we’re just leaving it to someone else to clean up all the time, we can’t do that. It puts me in a tough spot where everybody gets punished, but we have to take care of our community. Especially as seniors, we have to model for our underclassmen.