Wright Scheduled to Reopen After Pipe Burst Causes 2 Day Closure

Wright College’s main campus will reopen on Wednesday after being closed for Monday and Tuesday due to a pipe burst.  

Gissella Limon, director of safety and security, discovered that a pipe bursted at Wright on Saturday. "I got a call from the burglar alarm so I said hold on let me look at my cameras to see if there is anybody in the building. So when I looked at the camera there it was, the water coming down,” Limon said.

Limon said the damage from the flooding affected the learning resource center building and the first floor of the arts building near the Wright Stop. Wright Times reached out to Chief Engineer Luis Guerrero to receive more details but have yet to receive comment. 

Limon said there will be signs in English and Spanish to indicate that the elevator in the LRC will not be functioning.  Also the Narragansett entrance will be closed until further notice. The pipe burst also means that employees in the records department and enrollment management will have to be relocated.

The 2 day closure of Wright from the pipe burst, which follows Wright's closure on Friday and Saturday due to cold weather, came as students grappled with how to adapt to the interruption of in-person classes. English/Literature major Andy Garcia said, “Obviously nobody turns down like a free day of no school but I hated it ‘cause I had to miss some of my favorite classes. I missed out on sociology and I love that class.” Garcia also missed out on his Tuesday art appreciation class that he enjoys. ”That class I only take once a week and now we’re further behind schedule, which really sucks.”

Psych major Rasa Braswell said, “Because I’m a student that requires a 504 one of my biggest things is being able to be in person to kind of help me keep track of my schedule and my work, but also checking in with my professors to make sure I’m up to date. With the school being closed I haven’t really had a chance to do that.” 

English professor Michael Petersen said over email that “communication from the college has been good” so that Petersen could adapt his class plan. Speech and theater professor Kristen Williams said, “With the acting classes it’s just so hard when we can’t meet in person.” 

Instructors of in-person classes were also discouraged from moving their classes to Zoom.

In addition to classes, the closure impacted student activities and extracurriculars. 

Williams, who is directing the spring play Diary of Anne Frank, talked about the impact the closure had on theater rehearsals.

 “This has definitely had an impact more on us than a lot of departments because we are in a crunch time now with this show,” Williams said. "Losing Friday due to cold and Monday and Tuesday due to the water main break, I think we’ve lost 9 hours of rehearsal time. When you only have a short window to rehearse, this is really messing with our schedule.” Williams said that extra rehearsal time will have to be added to compensate for the lost time.

The student involvement fair, where students can meet various clubs, was cancelled Tuesday due to the closure. Kathleen Ordinario, director of Student Activities, said in an email response that student activities will host a Fall in Love with a Club event in February, giving students an opportunity to interact with Wright’s clubs.

Wright Times reached out to Athletic Director Gabriel Billings on how the closure affected athletics but did not yet receive comment. Wright Times also reached out to President Oroz and interim Vice President of Operations Anna-Marie Morales but have yet to receive comment. 

Limon added “The whole operations team has been working really hard to make sure the students come back to a safe environment. I think it could have been worse and I’m just glad it wasn’t and that kids are coming back to school tomorrow.”

The first floor of the LRC in October. The damage from the pipe burst mostly affected the first floor of the LRC. Photo Credit: Kyle Chmielowski.