The Oldest College Newspaper in Pennsylvania

The Lafayette

The Oldest College Newspaper in Pennsylvania

The Lafayette

The Oldest College Newspaper in Pennsylvania

The Lafayette

Malfunctioning bell tower ticks off campus

The+South+College+bell+has+been+ringing+three+minutes+late+since+the+start+of+the+semester.
Photo by Emma Sylvester for The Lafayette
The South College bell has been ringing three minutes late since the start of the semester.

Frustration mounted in the first week and a half of the semester as some students found themselves late to class due to the clock tower’s failure to strike at the top of the hour. The bell was only repaired on Thursday.

“As a student who likes to be on time to all my classes, I often use the bell as an additional way of staying on time,” Ian Duffy ’24 said. “For it to be three minutes late is frustrating because a bell only really has one job.”

Duffy said that he hoped that the bell’s repair becomes a priority of the college.

“I get that there’s other things on campus that need to be tended to, but it seems like a simple problem that would require a simple solution,” he said.

Sophia Guitar ’25 shared Duffy’s frustrations.

“I [got] so confused,” Guitar said. “I always just hear it and look at the time … and it was always completely random.”

Director of Facilities Operations Scott Kennedy cited controller issues as the reason for the delay.

“I spoke with our clock tower consultant this morning,” Kennedy wrote in an email on Monday. “We need to schedule a service call to reset the controller for the clock tower bell system.”

The service was completed on Thursday morning.

Editor’s note 2/3/2023: This article has been updated to reflect the bell’s repair on Thursday morning.

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About the Contributors
Emma Chen, Managing Editor
Emma Chen (she/her) is a senior studying Anthropology & Sociology and Government & Law. She has been writing for the paper since her freshman fall (Zoom interviews galore). On campus, she is a POSP director, Mentor Writing Associate, President of the Panhellenic Council, a Kaleidoscope coordinator, works in the A&S office, and is involved in her sorority. Emma has very strong opinions about crust, has never eaten a blueberry, and is a staunch hater of AP style.
Jenny Davis, Staff News Writer
Emma Sylvester, Photo Editor

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