Drury University’s residential students began reporting water leaks in campus housing at the beginning of the fall semester.  

According to data provided by Alex Riddle, executive director of facilities, 37 water leaks have been reported since August 2023. As of Dec. 5, only three of these work orders remain open and are not directly affecting students.  

Layne Clubb, a junior residing in the Kappa Alpha fraternity campus housing, reported leaks occurring in the building every time it rained. Clubb says his main concern is water leaking through the building’s smoke detectors.  

“Anytime there’s a rain, water leaks through our fire detectors and smoke detectors,” Clubb said. “It turns on our fire alarm almost every time, and the fire department shows up every time.”  

Clubb notes that the fire alarms have gone off at random multiple times, but they have consistently gone off when rain causes water to leak through them.  

Clubb says that both the fire department and Drury University’s security responded to the fire alarms, trying multiple times to disarm them and eventually turning off the alarm system. “They go check all the rooms and, basically, they were like, ‘We had to turn off your fire alarm system,’” Clubb said, explaining that the house had a faulty alarm on the second floor with water dripping out of it. Facilities clarified that the responding security officer reset the alarm.

Clubb and his housemates have put in work orders to fix the detectors and water leaks. As of Clubb’s interview with The Mirror on Oct. 16, Drury’s facilities services had not addressed the issues. Clubb could not be reached for an update as of Dec. 5, but facilities reports that the only water leak-related work orders still open are located in Wallace Hall and Summit Park. 

Junior student Rodney Campbell, a resident and house manager for the Sigma Nu fraternity campus housing, has experienced similar issues with water leaks during rainfall. Campbell put in multiple work orders in the days following an early October downpour after noticing water damage on the ceiling and the roof peeling.  

Campbell says that facilities fixed the roof’s damage about a week after putting in his work order. As of Dec. 5, Campbell says facilities painted over the interior damage, and he hasn’t experienced any new leaks.  

Besides rainfall, Drury’s campus apartments have experienced water leaks from the plumbing. Sondra Jones, a junior residing in Manley Hall, says that her apartment’s bathroom ceiling has been experiencing a leak whenever the upstairs apartment’s residents take a shower. She explained that though the leak wasn’t severe, she still put in work orders to have it addressed. 

“We started putting in work orders for it,” Jones said. “The maintenance came in. They went upstairs and did some so-called fixing, and then they left. It was never fixed. They (the upstairs residents) took a shower, and it was still leaking.” 

Jones said that she also reached out to Ethan Sykes, Drury’s director of housing and residential programs, over email. In his response, Sykes explained that the issues were being addressed diligently by Brandon Pope, the residential maintenance technician. Pope also replied to Jones’s email, apologizing for not responding sooner.  

“The drywall damage has been reported and put on a priority list of other ceilings that are to be repaired asap,” Pope says in the email received on Oct. 1.  

Plumbing leaks are ranked as “Expedited Requests,” according to the Facilities Work Order Management Timeline document provided by Riddle. The response time goal is typically within 48 hours, depending on the severity of the issue. 

As of Dec. 5, facilities addressed Jones’s work orders, and she hasn’t experienced any new leaks.  

Residential students are most concerned about their health and safety when waiting for facilities to respond to their work orders. Campbell and Jones both acknowledge that facilities may not have enough time and resources to respond immediately to issues. In response, they want better communication.  

“Notify us and let us know, ‘Hey, we attempted to fix it, but we need to bring in more people to fully solve the problem,’ instead of just saying it’s been fixed,” Jones said.  

Clubb discussed another housing issue he experienced where facilities had ongoing communication with the residents. “They were telling us what they were doing. So that at least helped us know that something was getting done,” Clubb said.  

Riddle says communication is a top priority both within his team and with students.  

“We take all of these concerns very seriously,” Riddle said. “I’ve been preaching to my team about keeping information on the work orders so that students or whoever has turned them in feel like they’re being looked at. Silence leans towards people thinking nothing’s happening when there could be something going on.” 

Since the beginning of the semester, facilities has received 1,264 work orders. As of Dec. 5, 1,183 have been closed. The average turnaround time for the completed work orders was 7-10 days. In the past two weeks, the average response time has been 1-2 days, which Riddle says is due to hiring additional staff that allows facilities to address issues more efficiently.  

Facilities urges students to submit work orders, so they can prioritize the issues. Residential students can access the online work order form under the “Facility Schedules and Services” tab on their myDrury account or by visiting Drury’s website and searching for the Facilities Services’s homepage. First-time users will need to register on SchoolDude, the platform used for work order submission. 

Students with questions about submitted work orders can call (417) 873-7219 or email facilities@drury.edu to reach facilities for updates.