Broken water line results in AC outages across campus
Students across campus were affected by the broken water line, which caused Canvas to go down temporarily last night. ORACLE PHOTO/ADAM MATHIEU
A water leak at the Campus Recreation Center caused the facility to close early Wednesday afternoon, but the water also caused a campus-wide AC outage and may have caused students and faculty to be briefly locked out of Canvas.
The leak, caused by a broken chilled water line, occurred before 4 p.m. in one of the lower rooms of the Rec Center. Outdoor activities continued, but the building was closed to students for the rest of the evening and is expected to reopen for its normal operating hours this morning.
In an email to The Oracle, Campus Recreation Director Eric Hunter said the bottom level strength floor and fitness classes will remain off limits today until further notice.
The main cardio level will operate normally.
An email from Physical Plant to university officials stated the break in the Rec Center also caused the air conditioning systems to go down across campus. Since the water leak occurred earlier in the afternoon, many buildings across campus spent several hours without AC before the problem was resolved in most buildings by 7 p.m.
Though it was not clear by the time of print, USF Media and Public Affairs Coordinator Adam Freeman told The Oracle there is a possibility the AC outage may have caused technical issues that led to the evening’s Canvas outage. Freeman said the outage only affected some users in the system.
The IT servers that maintain the NetID system, which is required to log onto Canvas, are housed in the Student Services (SVC) building and were similarly subjected to the increased temperatures with the rest of the campus.
However, the SVC building was one of the earlier buildings to regain AC, and the servers were not without AC for more than a couple hours, Freeman said. He added it was unclear if the lack of AC was the cause of the IT issues with the NetID system.
More Stories
USF admin’s response to suicides unclear. What we know so far.
USF’s administration will not say who or how it will prevent future suicides on campus a month after a student leapt from an upper floor balcony of the Interdisciplinary Science Building – the third suicide since fall 2022. The Oracle has asked repeatedly about which USF administrators are overseeing suicide prevention initiatives and how the […]
USF SG leaders look back on campaign accomplishments while on non-speaking terms
Student body president Cesar Esmeraldi and vice president Elizabeth Volmy reached nearly every campaign goal during their term. The one thing that didn’t persevere was their unity. The pair ended their tenure reflecting on it from separate rooms. “We’ve had a great year,” Esmeraldi said. “I’m very happy with everything we’ve built. But because of […]
USF’s ‘Take Back the Night’ allows sexual survivors to share pain, resilience: ‘Recovery isn’t easy.’
A sexual assault survivor, who was the first speaker at Wednesday evening’s “Take Back the Night,” said the hardest day of their life was not when they were assaulted – it was the day after. “When I had to call my mom and tell her how her [child lost their] virginity and tell my therapist […]
USF campus ministers offer perspective on stadium development: ‘Exciting benefit of exposure.’
Take a tranquil stroll down Sycamore Drive. It’s a quieter part of campus, hidden away from the usual hustle and bustle of USF. It’s home to an area colloquially known as “Religious Row,” a collection of on-campus religious organizations. In just a few years – with the construction of an on-campus football stadium – the […]
McKinley Drive closed down for death investigation, Tampa police say
The intersection between Fowler Avenue and McKinley Drive was closed due to a death investigation late Wednesday afternoon, according to the Tampa Police Department (TPD). A man shot himself after making a bomb threat in the parking lot of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), located at 11201 McKinley Drive, according to TPD. Police said […]
USF 2024-25 A&S budget to increase student organization funding in Tampa and St. Pete
The Student Government (SG) Senate approved the 2024-25 Student Activities & Services (A&S) budget for all three campuses this Tuesday, seeing an overall increase in allocated money to student organizations. The vote was 26-0, approving the budget. Related: 2023-24 A&S budget down $5 million from last fiscal year Students pay fees in their tuition – […]