Two-day power outage shocks EU campus

The unprecedented two-day-long power outage at Elmhurst University left Bluejays not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

An unexpected hit on the power lines during utility construction resulted in the power shutdown in some residential halls and academic buildings from March 26, through March 28. 

Students on campus were utterly unprepared for the incident. 

“It was around 2 p.m. when I just woke up,” said Phuong “Peter” Dang, a Stanger Hall resident. “I did not know the power was out until I asked my roommate whether he could use the Wi-Fi. Then I came to the lounge to make something to eat. However, the lounge’s stove was not working either.” 

“I called public safety and asked them how long this will take,” Dang continued. “But they said that they did not know either. Luckily, I asked one of my friends who was also staying on campus for the break, and he told me that they still have power in Cureton. So, I immediately packed all my stuff and brought the whole kitchen to Cureton’s lounge.” 

Since only three buildings (Cureton Hall, R.A. Faganel Hall, and A.C. Buehler Library) had power, many students had to walk in the dark to eat and shower. 

“It’s like camping,” Dang joked. “The whole campus was pitch black. There was not even a single ray of light. Yet, I had to walk back alone from Cureton to my dorm [Stanger Hall]. I felt like I was a protagonist in a horror movie.”  

Dealing with spoiled food in the fridge was another common difficulty for EU residents during those two days.  

“My roommate threw away the whole fridge,” said Schick Hall resident Sebastian Lara. “When I came back to my room after spring break, my room smelled so bad. I thought it was the smell of some sort of dead animal. So, I went around the room to inspect what caused the smell.”

“Then I realized that it was my roommate’s fridge. I saw a brown liquid leaking through his fridge;” Lara continued, “I opened it, and it was his milk that all went bad. So, I called him, and he said that just [threw] the whole thing away because it is impossible to clean up that mess.”