“It smelled like a sewage pipe broke in the middle of this place,” said Allison resident Justin Berzon, a Medill sophomore.
The odor, which spread from the dorm’s basement to it’s hallways Sunday morning, emanated from a malfunctioning pump that handles raw sewage for the building, said Gary Wojtowicz, senior chief operating engineer for Northwestern’s facilities management.
Technicians fixed the pump at noon on Monday, Wojtowicz said.
Throughout the day, students offered creative descriptions of the odor.
“It kind of smells like sulfur or rotten eggs,” Allison resident Christine Byun said. “It was pretty thick and heavy.”
The smell caused a series of problems at Allison, especially in the dining hall, which closed during lunch Monday because of the offensive odor.
“My (resident assistant) said she almost puked when she went down there because it smelled like an outhouse,” said Kristina Francisco, a Medill sophomore.
The dining hall reopened for dinner.
Students working in the mailroom in the lobby managed to continue sorting mail, despite the smell.
“It’s one thing to lock yourself in your own room with the fan on,” said Berzon, a mailroom employee. “But when you sit in the lobby for three hours at a time, it really makes you light-headed.”
Allison President Gillian Schauer addressed residents’ concerns Monday morning through an e-mail, after irate students blamed dorm government for not fixing the problem.
“Walking into Allison (on Monday) morning, I had at least 10 or 15 people coming up to me and asking why I wasn’t doing something about the problem,” said Schauer, a Speech sophomore. “It was just kind of annoying to have to deal with the problem, because we don’t even have contact with maintenance people.”
During the odor’s reign, RAs around the building attempted to dilute it — bringing on new complaints.
“They’ve been trying to alleviate the smell by airing out the dorm, which has made it pretty cold,” said Byun, a Medill sophomore.
Meanwhile, Allison residents devised several methods for coping with the pungent odor, ranging from burning incense to turning on fans.
“I just kept my door closed and held my nose when I walked down the hall and when I was in the bathroom,” Francisco said.
