Reading room re-opens after water damage
University honors students feel out of place during renovations
Chelsea Miller
Issue date: 2/18/10 Section: Culture
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Dr. Gregory O'Dea, director of the University Honors Program, said the room started having problems in October because of the age of the building and water leaks.
One of the air conditioning and heating units in the building had a compressor leak that started leaking out underneath the floor.
The water started seeping through 50-year-old original flooring, while the roof also developed a leak.
The honors students were forced to find other places to study while the new flooring was being installed. The reading room was closed off for a couple of weeks in late January.
O'Dea said a good amount of the damage was done to the floor of the room.
"The wood and tiles swelled up where the leaks were and it looked like a giant blister in the floor," O'Dea said.
The repairs to the floor were finished Feb. 13 and O'Dea said he is pleased with how the new floor turned out.
O'Dea said the roof is not completely fixed, but the honors students are already able to get back in the room and into their normal routines.
Case Duckworth, a sophomore honors student from Sevierville, Tenn., said he missed being able to use the reading room while it was being renovated.
"It really affected me because I come in here to work and talk with other students," Duckworth said. "We have a pool table, computer lab, couches, areas to study or talk, so I had to find another place to do those things."
Honors students, Vanessa Parks, a sophomore from Memphis, and Sarah Veal, a Chattanooga senior, said a lot of students were greatly impacted by the short closing of the honors department reading room.
"It disrupted the learning process," Veal said. "[The reading room] is a great environment to get away and get things done, or to just talk."
Parks said the closing of the room effected the students' daily routines because it is where they spend a lot of time.
"[The reading room] is where we do everything," Parks said. "We eat, nap, hang out and study. [It] is basically where we live."
