Fox Hall Floods
Aleksandra Ward

Built in 1970 when the University was known as Lowell Tech, Kenneth R. Fox Hall has houses 515 students of what is currently the University of Massachusetts at Lowell every year. Known as the center of East Campus, Fox Hall also holds the Hawks Nest convenience store, Mahoney’s Snack Bar and after renovations, will be home to the campus radio station WUML 91.5AM.

Also holding classrooms, a tutoring center, computer lab, the VPAC and the Common, it’s the tallest building in Lowell, and with the recent bursting of two water pipes, Fox Hall is once again a topic of discussion amongst residents.

At approximately 1:15AM on Wednesday October 14^th, residents in a double on the Tenth floor awoke to find a pipe had exploded in their room. The broken expansion joint sprayed water, making a puddle four inches deep, about 30 feet long going from the room it originated in, down the hall and into the bathroom by the time it was turned off. On the night of Monday the 18^th, at 11:30PM during the Red Sox Game another pipe burst in a triple on the low side of the tenth floor.

Though physically unrelated, the two incidents were quickly handled. RA’s Mohit Gidwani, and Adam Page called in housekeeping, Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC), plumbing and the police to aid in and ensure the safety of residents. “There was a huge response from RA’s and other neighboring residents…the RA’s and residents were a huge help .” Says resident director of Fox Hall Gregory Madrid. “When the second pipe burst, in the triple, there were residents helping make barriers to protect other rooms from being flooded.”