The Recreation and Student Wellness Center (SRWC) at Abilene Christian University temporarily closed two weeks ago due to flooding and a loss of electricity. This closure created considerable campus-wide disruption due to its central role in student activities.
On January 25th, students received an email from Kevin Campbell, senior vice president for operations, stating that Moody Coliseum and the SRWC were closed until further notice.Basketball games, daily chapels, and intramural games were either postponed, canceled, or relocated.
“There was a water line leak that resulted in our basement being flooded. Since many electrical panels and transformers are located in the basement, they were damaged or destroyed due to the flooding,” said Joel Swedlund, the Executive Director of Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation & Wellness Center. “This led to no electricity, water, or heating in the Rec.”
In light of the news, Alayne Denton, junior communications major, said, “I didn’t know what to do. I rely a lot on my time at the rec and consider it to be my safe space. Not having access put a damper on my mood.”
The facilities department worked for many hours each day in attempts to get the SRWC back and running as soon as possible. Outside companies were hired to restore water and electric services as well.
“The SRWC is one of the most used buildings on campus, and it’s a big inconvenience to our students and other members when we have an unscheduled closing,” said Swedlund. “Unfortunately, these types of things happen, and we must make the best of it.”
With intramural basketball season in full swing, many students were upset to miss out on these events.
“With the SRWC being closed on Thursday, intramural games had to be postponed to the following week, which made for an extremely chaotic and busy schedule,” said Matt Coats, an ACU intramural referee.
The SRWC opened again on January 28th and has not faced any issues since. The facilities department is looking into several measures it can take to get an earlier notification of potential flooding in the basement.
