Just over a month into the new semester, some Howard University students in D.C. said that instead of relaxing comfortably in their dorms after class, they are baking in the end-of-summer heat.
The students who live at Howard Plaza Towers East lost power last week, leaving students posting pictures of pitch-black hallways. The residence hall has generators running, but the students said they were told the machines are not powerful enough to run the air conditioning, water heaters or elevators.
However, the university told WTOP that generators that were brought in following the outage are supplying full power to residence halls.
“No additional generators are needed. The issue with the East Tower air conditioner is related to the control panel, which was affected by the power outage. A contractor is on location at the East Tower to restore the system,” a university spokesperson told WTOP via email.
“I’m constantly sweating,” said Amariah Rambo, a sophomore majoring in nursing who lives in the building.
Rambo said it’s been difficult going up and down nine flights of stairs, knowing a warm room awaits her: “It’s causing a very uncomfortable situation for me.”
In a statement to WTOP, a spokesperson for the university said external contractors have been working on a demolition project at the intersection of Bryant and W streets in Northwest.
“The contractor accidentally damaged a PEPCO electrical feeder which resulted in a loss of power to several Howard University buildings, as well as parts of the surrounding community. The restoration process was complex and required a coordinated emergency response,” the statement read.
According to the university, while repairs were being made, Pepco’s subcontractors identified a fault in newly installed cables, extending the outage.
On Sunday, the university said, repairs were complete and power restored to all Howard buildings, but the outage reoccurred Monday due to another fault in a cable. Howard’s statement did not include an estimate as to when power would be restored, but said the university has provided staff resources to address the needs of students.
“The fact that I cannot get access to hot water to clean myself the right way, hygienically, is a problem,” said Asia Moncrief, a sophomore majoring in political science.
Moncrief said despite the updates from the school, no one appears to know when power will be restored at 2251 Sherman Ave in Northwest.
“We’re all confused and we feel like we’re in the dark,” Moncrief said.
Moncrief said they are also unable to wash their clothes because they’ve been told the washers and dryers are too much for the generators, as well. The Wi-Fi is out, as well, they claim.
“We haven’t gotten any accommodations. That’s the main thing that we haven’t seen from the university,” said Moncrief.
Both students said they urge the university to do more for impacted students, including providing alternate housing like in hotels.
“My message to Howard University is to just do better,” Rambo said.
However, the university said it is providing students with cooling stations, fans, staff counseling and other campus locations for personal hygiene.
This isn’t the only housing problem facing Howard, WTOP has also learned students at Drew Hall, located at 511 Gresham Place in Northwest, have been dealing with water outages since Sep. 19.
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