Marquis Dining Hall was closed for over 48 hours starting Tuesday after a sewage line malfunction occurred outside the building, according to an announcement from Lafayette College’s communication division.
An exterior sewer line near the back of Marquis broke on Tuesday afternoon and was partially repaired by dozens of workers from the college’s Facilities Operations team.
Scott Kennedy, the director of Facilities Operations, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The college has not announced a re-opening of Marquis as of Thursday afternoon.
According to an email sent to Marquis Hall residents on Tuesday, Facilities Operations planned to dig up the pipe on Wednesday to repair the sewage line. The repairs meant that there was no water in the bathrooms on Wednesday.
“I just had to wear my robe and wear my jacket outside and went to Ruef to shower and came back,” said Marquis resident Nina Qiu ’28, who stayed in a friend’s room overnight because of the lack of water.
According to the Office of Residence Life, a temporary patchwork fixed the sewage line on Wednesday. A third announcement from the communications division later that night said that repairs to the line would continue toward a more permanent solution.
Tyler Bergsma, the assistant director of residence life, wrote in a Tuesday email to Marquis residents that they could request temporary housing or stay in a friend’s residence hall on Tuesday night. All Marquis residents were given card access to nearby Ruef Hall and South College overnight.
“I thought it was a small problem,” Qiu said. “I thought it would be fixed in a couple of hours, but it takes so long.”
Emma Serpi ’28, also a resident of Marquis Hall, requested a temporary room to stay in the Lafayette Inn on Tuesday night. She estimated that around half of Marquis residents stayed in their dorm, while the other half moved to nearby residence halls or crashed with friends.
“I was surprised and almost in disbelief because it was just like the mice issue had been resolved,” Serpi said. “Now, having another issue, I was kind of worried about what would happen.”
Marquis Hall has had other maintenance issues throughout the academic year. In October, the dining hall was briefly closed due to an asbestos scare, which was later confirmed to be fiberglass.
Tony Williams, the resident district manager for Parkhurst Dining Services, deferred comment to college spokesman Scott Morse.
