Facilities Threatens Fines Over Sewer Line Vandalism in Hanson and Paul Halls
Hanson Hall (Photo courtesy of Gettysburg College)
By Katie Oglesby, Magazine Editor
Associate Vice President of Facilities Planning and Management Jim Biesecker sent out a campus-wide email Monday, Dec. 6 expressing that over the past 24 hours, Facilities had been handling “extensive sewer back-ups” in some of the residence halls, due to excessive amounts of toilet paper being flushed down the toilets. The damage ensued could total a couple thousand dollars per building impacted. Biesecker reminded students that unless the vandal is identified, the cost of the damage will be shared by all of the building’s residents.
When asked for elaboration, Biesecker explained that the worst of the damages are primarily in Paul Hall, Hanson Hall, and the College Union Building with some damage in three other buildings on campus.
“In all of these situations we found the cause to be excessive amounts of toilet paper that were flushed in extremely long lengths,” he explained.
Director of Residential and First-Year Programs Danielle Phillips said that initially some of the bathrooms in Paul and Hanson Halls were not able to be used and students were told to use one on another floor. However, since then, all of the bathrooms are back to being in use and Facilities is responding to concerns as they come up.
Over the last week, students had reported seeing signs in bathrooms on campus that said toilet paper use was banned. However, Biesecker explained that these were fake and have since been removed.
Facilities currently has a staffing shortage. Biesecker explained that “the sewer backup causes us to pull employees from other trades to help the two plumbers. This slows down our responses to other campus work orders.”
“We are still assessing the cost associated with the cleanup to determine if there will be building fines,” said Biesecker.
Resident Coordinator of Hanson Hall Ethan Kincaid ’22 said that among students in Hanson, “There is, of course, the first-year gossip of ‘I think I heard that so and so did this’ but at the end of the day, people are also just frustrated that they may have to pay a fine for other people’s actions.”
Biesecker explained that the sewer line backups on campus have impacted the Gettysburg Municipal Authority sewer lines, but that there has been no report of impact to the residents bordering the College.
“Living in a college residence hall is one of the staples of a true college experience, but getting in trouble for a policy violation is not,” said Kincaid. “I continue to expect the best from the residents I live with because I know they can all be great individuals, but I also cannot be lax when conduct problems arise.”
Biesecker ended his email to the student body by saying, “We are asking all students for your assistance in helping to stop this behavior from continuing.”
He advised that any students with information about the incidents report it to the Department of Public Safety (DPS).
In this past week, the College has made local news due to the sewer line vandalism concerns.
Research, Instruction, and Information Literacy Librarian Clint Baugess reported that the library experienced sewage backups on the evening of Dec. 15, causing them to close restrooms on two floors, eliminating all but two single-occupancy bathrooms.
“Facilities staff has to stay late into the evening to fix the damage and clean and sanitize the tile floors/carpet. Hopefully this is the end of it,” Baugess said.
Editor’s note: This article was updated on Dec. 20 at 1:30 p.m. to include additional information about the sewage backup in the library. (~P. Doscher)
