Power outage closes dorm wing at Southeast for 14 to 16 weeks

A power outage in Dearmont Hall on the Southeast Missouri State University campus has displaced 51 residents, and university officials have announced it may take 14 to 16 weeks to repair the issue.

The B wing of Dearmont suffered a power outage about 9:30 p.m. Monday.

Those who were forced out of B wing were assigned temporary rooms in Dearmont along with other residence halls, including Merick Hall, Towers Complex and Myers Hall.

“All of the electrical devices just went out at once, and we were waiting for it to come back on for about three hours,” said Ben Boyd, a senior who lives in B wing.

Once officials came to the conclusion power could not be restored Monday, relocating the 51 students living in the B wing began.

“After three hours, they finally started assigning us to other rooms with air conditioning so we wouldn’t die of heatstroke,” said Boyd, who was moved to the A wing.

A time frame of power restoration at Dearmont Hall was not available Tuesday.

“As of right now (late Tuesday afternoon), we really don’t know anything about what happened,” Logan Driskell, Dearmont’s hall director, said.

Meanwhile, residents in the Dearmont C wing also were in a inconvenient position during the outage in B wing.

C-wing residents were told not to use washing machines, dryers or microwaves because they need a large amount of power to run. With C wing being next to B wing, electrical usage is being monitored to prevent further power loss.

Dearmont residents met with university officials Tuesday to determine their living situations.

University president Carlos Vargas-Aburto assured students A and D wings will remain functional.

“It’s going to be a learning process for me (on B and C wings), but I know for certain that wings A and D are up-to-date and able to proceed normally,” Vargas said.

University officials determined extensive repairs need to be made to the electrical system in Dearmont’s B wing. The repairs may take 14 to 16 weeks to complete.

The displaced residents may be relocated to another room in Dearmont and live with a roommate at a reduced rate, move to another residence hall at the Dearmont rate or cancel their room and board contracts with no penalty.