Power failure at dorm
displaces UH studentsUniversity officials say
housing will be found for all
of the 220 dorm residents
More than 200 University of Hawaii students who live at Gateway House on the Manoa campus will have to move to new quarters when they return to campus this weekend because an electric power transformer failed.
CORRECTION
Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2003>> Some students displaced from Gateway House at the University of Hawaii at Manoa are freshmen. A Page A3 article Friday incorrectly said none are freshmen.
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"Fortunately, our student housing staff has been able to find substitute quarters for virtually all of the 220 people who will have to be relocated so that they can be settled in by the time classes begin on Monday," said Margit Watts, interim director for student housing at UH-Manoa. "Everybody is going to be placed."
The 10-story, twin-tower dorm is being closed indefinitely, possibly for several months. The 214 students and six staff members who live there will move to other dorms on campus and to the East-West Center, with some possibly going to the Ohana Reef Towers in Waikiki, Watts said.
The students, none of whom are freshmen, will be offered alternate space on a first-come, first-served basis. An assistance center will be set up this afternoon at Gateway House, on Dole Street at East West Road. If their new rooms cost more, the university will make up the difference. If they cost less, students will receive refunds.
The power transformer serving Gateway failed several times in the last week, and electricians have not been able to figure out why.
"Engineers considered bringing in a generator with enough capacity to power the building during the interim, but there was no guarantee that the generator itself might not fail if the cause of the problem is somewhere within the building's power distribution system," said Wayne Fujishige, director of UH-Manoa Auxiliary Enterprises.
UH has hired engineers to inspect and test the electrical system floor by floor at Gateway, which is more than 40 years old. If it decides to issue bids for a new transformer, it could take three or four months to custom-build the equipment, Fujishige said.
School officials have been calling every student at home to inform them of the situation.
"Our responses are across the board," Watts said, "from 'No problem, it's not a big deal' to 'Oh my God, I want to be with my roommate.'"
Watts said the first priority is to give each student a place to live, and the school will offer them a chance to switch rooms in a week or so. The school has arranged for boxes, van service, and extra campus shuttles for students who are moving.
"We're trying to make this as pain-free as we can for people, even though it's not comfortable," Watts said.
To help make space on campus, the university is relocating residents from Hale Anuenue conference housing, which is short term. Other dorm rooms were freed up by students who graduated before winter break.
Chancellor Peter Englert lived at the dorm when he first took his job at the university, a year and a half ago.
"I know the building well, and I know that it is showing its age, as are many of the other buildings on the campus," Englert said. "We have made some progress on deferred maintenance in the last couple of years, but the backlog of projects is still more than $80 million. These things catch up with you eventually."
