A Nightmare on the First Day of School 

By: April C. Thornton

When BSU students were in their beds Aug. 30 resting for the first day of school, senior Brittany Hudson was awakened at 4 a.m. by a disturbing sound in her room on the fifth floor in Christa McAuliffe Residential Community (CMRC). As Hudson got out of bed and turned on the lights to investigate the mysterious sound, she noticed that water was dripping from her smoke detector. Without hesitation, she grabbed a trashcan to collect the water, but the water was quickly spreading throughout her ceiling. Hudson started to panic.

"I was screaming at the top of lungs and I started banging on my roommates' doors, but no one got up," recalled Hudson. "At this point it was literally raining in my room and the alarm was going off in the midst of me trying to get the rest of my stuff."

The police and fire departments arrived at the scene at approximately 7 a.m. By this time the water was already making its way down to the west wing of the building, ruining other apartments.

Due to the intense water damage in the ceiling, Hudson gathered her personal belongings with the assistance of a flashlight. Unsure if whether or not the ceiling was going to collapse, police officers kept Hudson out of her room as much as possible. Hudson mentioned that her roommates helped her to retrieve her items and the fifth floor resident assistant (RA) Jennifer Williams "really sacrificed herself to get my stuff." 

Later that day, representatives from the buildings contractor Capstone Companies immediately began to repair damaged apartments and replace several residences in temporary rooms. No one was injured during the incident.

It is still unclear what caused the leak. Assistant Director of Affiliate Christa McAuliffe Residential Community at Bowie State University Yaisa Williams declined to be interviewed for this article. 

When asked about officials' response to the flood, Hudson said, "During an emergency sometimes people don't think, so I'm not going to say officials should've done this or should've done that."

The first day of school should bring excitement as students reunite with the friends they missed and meet their professors for the first time. Residents affected by the leak said they were unable to experience these two emotions for their first day of school. Instead, they said they experiences feelings of frustration and exhaustion as they missed classes to move their possessions from their damaged rooms to their temporary rooms.