From fountain hopping to bubbling, Star Fountain has been the focus of many lasting memories for Butler students.

Today, it stands out as a black eye on campus.

While undergoing maintenance over the summer, a construction worker accidentally backed his pickup truck into the fountain, knocking several pieces of limestone loose.

Junior Rachel Head, a Butler student ambassador, said she is frustrated by the fountain’s current state.

“I love to talk about (the fountain) on tours,” Head said, “but it really frustrates me that it looks so messy. It seems like it’s been falling apart for the whole year now.”

Gerald Carlson manages the maintenance services team executing the work on Star Fountain. Carlson already possesses the limestone needed to fix the fountain, but he will be unable to begin working until the weather warms.

He said he hopes to complete construction over Spring Break in order to minimize distractions for students.

Once the limestone is replaced, Star Fountain will receive maintenance again over the summer.

Charlie Truax, structures supervisor, is looking for funding to replace the plumbing in Star Fountain.

“The fountain works fine just the way it is,” Truax said.
“It’s just old and needs to be re-done.”

Originally, the class of 2013 was expected to fund the project. However, the plans fell through, and Butler has been forced to look elsewhere for funding.  The university will most likely pay for the project.

The fountain is one of many maintenance projects currently on Truax’s schedule.

Now that construction is completed on Jordan Hall’s north entrance, he hopes to finish with construction on the south entrance within the next two weeks.  Once completed, maintenance will begin on two more entrances. Preparations will begin over Spring Break in order to minimize interruption of classes. However, the Jordan Hall loop will remain blocked off in order to store materials for construction.

Also on Butler’s construction schedule is a new roof over Clowes Memorial Hall and renovations in the B-Wing of ResCo, the B-Wing of Hinkle Fieldhouse and of Persephone Fountain.

All buildings now have full electricity after a power outage at Butler University Saturday left students in the dark and employees working overtime.

Butler staff shut off power across campus after lightning struck near or on the power plant located behind Schwitzer Hall said Ben Hunter, Chief of Staff and Executive Director of Public Safety.

Hunter said that electricity problems have occurred before but they “haven’t been as catastrophic as this.”

A 2009 storm caused a campus-wide power outage for 24 hours, said Gerald Carlson, director of maintenance services.

He said that Saturday’s storm and power outage could cost—at a guess—between $25,000 and $30,000.

These costs would take into account the generators, the new wiring and overtime compensation.

Carlson said an underground wire shorted and was burnt through, which caused the smoke. The decision was then made to shut off the switchgear that controls campus power.

“We could not risk losing that switchgear,” Carlson said. “We had to shut it down.”

The main switchgear controls electricity for buildings across campus and is comprised of nine switches that distribute power. Carlson said that the $600,000 switchgear was installed last summer and that it would have taken three months to replace it if it had been destroyed.

The burnt cable belongs to switch five, which controls power for Lilly Hall, Irwin Library, Residential College and the east and middle parts of Jordan Hall.

A generator was brought in to power Residential College while employees from Butler and Barth Electric made repairs, Carlson said.

He said Atherton’s wiring goes through the same switch, so power was shut down, while a second generator provided power to keep food services running.

“Our goal was to make sure power was back on so we didn’t disrupt classes two weeks before finals,” Carlson said.

Though power was up in time for classes, Saturday proved a difficult time for some Butler students.

Brandon Douthitt, a freshman music major, was practicing saxophone in Lilly Hall when the lights went out.

“I looked outside, and it was pitch black,” he said.

ResCo’s power returned just before midnight Saturday, but Douthitt said he was concerned the power in his residence hall could have been out until Monday. Jordan, Lilly and Irwin regained power at around 7 p.m. Sunday.

Alyssa Setnar, a freshman motorsports engineering and physics major, was getting ready for the Kappa Alpha Theta formal when the power went out.

“I was about to dry my hair when the power went out,” Setnar said. “I realized that I had dinner in an hour and my hair was wet.”

After walking to the Kappa Alpha Theta house to dry her hair, Setnar said she was left out in the rain because Schwitzer’s ID scanners were shut off due to the power outage.

“It’s unfortunate that it happened on the same night as formal, but it’s not their fault that it happened,” she said.

In addition, the power went out during the Saturday matinee of “Les Misérables” at Clowes Memorial Hall.

“I feel sorry for all the patrons that bought tickets,” Carlson said, “but they can work with Clowes to see about refunds.”

Students received alerts and updates about the power outage via DawgAlert and Twitter.

Douthitt said the situation was “handled well.”

Carlson credits staff, some of whom worked until 3 a.m. Sunday, for getting the power up as quickly as possible.

“We’ve got great employees who came up with a game plan to get it operational so that it didn’t affect classes and students,” Carlson said. “Two of them had about two hours of sleep between Saturday and Sunday.”

Administrators closed Lilly Hall on Monday night after more than four inches of raw sewage flooded the building’s basement, which administrators said created a potential biohazard.

By Tuesday morning, regularly scheduled classes went on as usual, although bathrooms and running water were unavailable.

The reason for the foul problem was that the sewage ejection pump system failed, said Gerald Carlson, director of maintenance services.

Students who were in the building’s practice rooms were evacuated after Ben Hunter, Butler University’s chief of staff and executive director of public safety, made the call that the building wasn’t safe to be in.

Sophomore Kelsey Nylin said she was supposed to work on a theater project with a friend in Lilly Monday night, but they had to move to Jordan Hall to practice because of the sewage.

Nylin said she could smell the sewage on Monday, but by the time classes resumed on Tuesday, she didn’t smell anything unusual.

A crew worked on Monday night to clean up the sewage. The incident caused damage that was limited to some damage to filters and supplies that were on the building’s mechanical room floor.

After the building was evacuated Monday night, the community reacted online.

The new Butler University memes page was updated twice about the Lilly sewage incident.

Junior Brian Skinner posted an image of an angry stick figure with the text “DAWG ALERT: Y U NO Alert?” and a caption that reads, “For all those that tried to get in Lilly tonight…”

Another meme, posted by senior Karl Watson, is a screen shot from the movie “Bridesmaids” that said, “What did Lilly Hall eat?”

Seventeen Facebook users “liked” the meme.

Sophomore Maggie Carey tweeted about the sewage leak.

“The Lilly Hall poo fiasco,” she tweeted from her handle @MaggieCareyyy. “#pleasecancelclass.”

Butler junior Justin Rustle posted a Facebook status about attending classes on Tuesday.

“So apparently Lilly Hall will be open tomorrow, we just won’t be able to use the bathrooms or the water… boycott of classes in Lilly tomorrow?” he posted.

A new system will be installed when parts are located, Carlson said.

One of the elevators in Jordan Hall has been inoperable off and on for weeks and is beginning to cause problems for Information Technology and Instructional Media Services.

Jeff McGregor, information systems analyst, said IT is always thinking of ways to be prepared if the elevator is down.
“We just kind of expect it now,” he said.

Interim Vice President for Operations Gerald Carlson said repairs on the elevator are dealt with the same day that they are reported.

“The problems over the last couple of weeks are the result of the elevator doors being knocked out of alignment,” he said. “This type of problem is usually the result of some type of wheeled cart.”

When the elevator is down, IT must tell professors there is no way to get the computers to the classroom.

“[The professors] are very understanding, and they usually already know about the elevator,” McGregor said.

Lindsey VanWinkle, sophomore media, rhetoric and culture and digital media production major, works for IMS. She said it can be frustrating when the elevator is broken, because classes need the laptops.

“We can’t carry a 300-pound cart up the stairs,” she said.

IT is currently looking for open space on other floors to avoid disruption in delivering computer carts to classrooms when the elevator is down.

McGregor said the elevator takes about three minutes to get down to the basement, then three minutes to get to the second floor.

“We have to make sure that we leave 15 minutes before a class to get there on time,” McGregor said.

Because the elevator is so slow at times, it makes it difficult for IT and IMS to do anything other than delivery.

“It also affects bringing things back [to the office],” McGregor said.

Size is another issue. Only two computer carts fit into the elevator at a time. However, the elevator size cannot be changed because Jordan Hall is a national historical landmark.

While the elevator is causing problems for IT and IMS, there are no plans to replace it any time in the near future.

“The replacement of the Jordan Hall middle building elevator is put as a capital funding request each year,” Carlson said. “The replacement cost is substantial, and the unit is fairly trouble-free, so funding is not likely in the near term.”

A burst pipe on the northeast side of Jordan Hall dampened the daily routine for some faculty, staff and students last Thursday.

Interim Vice President for Operations Gerald Carlson said workers struck a fire hydrant Nov. 10 while using a lift to hang banners for last weekend’s presidential inauguration.

The fire hydrant ruptured a water main beneath the sidewalk, which flooded the area. This flood forced pedestrian traffic to divert around the area and also disrupted the flow of water to Atherton Union, home of the Market Place and Starbucks.

“We immediately called the water company so they could shut off the water supply until the break could be repaired,” Carlson said. “The same line feeding the fire hydrant fed Atherton Union.”

Carlson said Atherton was without water until approximately 6:30 p.m.

The lack of water forced Aramark to make adjustments to meal services.

“[Dining services] had to make arrangements to accommodate our guests during the meal periods,”said Stacey Puck, director of dining services. “We set up temporary beverage stations at the Market Place at Atherton since the fountain machines were not operable.”

Puck said that dining services has contingency plans for situations when dining services can’t operate as normal due to unforeseeable circumstances, such as water disruption or weather events.

“During the snowstorms earlier this year, dining services personnel were some of the only staff members on campus,” Puck said.

“Members of our management team were able to arrive to campus and went through with what staff could get to campus. We then had to centralize all of our dining through the Market Place.”

These sudden changes are not always convenient or satisfying for students and staff, though. Students looking for a caffeine fix Thursday afternoon found that Starbucks was not selling hot beverages.

“It was a really cold day, so we were kind of disappointed,” freshman Michelle Quenon said.

Freshman Christina Perry said although she was disappointed, she wasn’t too upset about it.

“Things like this happen, and we understand that,” Perry said.

It is this understanding that Puck said she and the dining services team are thankful for.

“We appreciate students’ understanding and patience when something like this happens that is beyond our control,” Puck said.

The water main break was repaired by Thursday evening, and dining services, including Starbucks, have since resumed normal operations.

Photo by Maria Porter

It is one thing to have water in fountains and ponds. It is an entirely different thing to have to walk through standing water to get to class when it rains.

A couple weeks ago, I woke up, looked outside and opted for skinny jeans and rainboots, only to walk outside, step in a puddle and feel water slosh into my boots. I looked down and saw a huge hole on the side. At first, I was mad at the boots; then I was mad at the lack of drainage systems on campus sidewalks.

At a university in Indiana, a state that averages more than 40 inches of precipitation a year, I would think a system would be in place to drain the sidewalks. However, at Butler University, our sidewalks not only collect puddles but also retain enough water to fill Star Fountain.

Butler needs to invest in some type of drainage system for campus sidewalks—or at least the ones traveled most.

In the article this week titled “Flooding poses problem for campus officials,” Gerald Carlson, interim vice president for operations, told The Collegian bulminite, the slippery-when-wet blue rocks on the sidewalks, could be creating the problem.

“That helps to retain the water and not let it go somewhere,” Carlson said.

If the bulminite is the problem, why not remove it? It does add beauty to our sidewalks, and as Carlson said, “it’s kind of unique to Butler,” but it is also a safety hazard. Not only do the rocks become a skating rink when wet, but they are also part of the reason the sidewalks retain so much water.

Renovations are expensive, and a campus-wide restructuring of all the sidewalks and drainage systems is sure to cost the university quite a sum. I would like Butler to consider spending less money on paw print-painted crosswalks and more money on fixing problems that affect the entire student body’s safety.

It’s unfortunate that students have to complete an obstacle course to avoid drenching themselves and others. It seems like a fixable problem that the Butler administration needs to look into further.

Our campus is beautiful, but it doesn’t need to forgo students’ safety to attain it.

University officials said they are looking at ways to cut out wastefulness, but some students and faculty members said they want the university’s sustainability projects to be more focused.

“All the time I see lights on in buildings at night, and even the sprinklers will be on when it is raining,” sophomore chemistry major Kaitlynn Brooks said. “If we stopped doing things like that then I think we’ll be fine.”

Director of the Center for Urban Ecology Tim Carter said the university is always looking to find ways to cut out wastefulness.

Carter pointed toward new energy audit results for Butler that were taken by the center to calculate the university’s carbon emissions. They show that Butler’s emissions were slightly less than other universities similar in size.

“The fact that we set up this study was a great first step,” Carter said. “Now we can figure out how we can be more efficient with our energy use. The next step, I would hope, would be for President [Jim] Danko to set up a sustainability committee to try to eliminate unnecessary waste.”

The research shows that Butler’s emissions for 2009 were about 27,522 net megatons of carbon dioxide.

This is less than Depauw University, which has an enrollment about half Butler’s size but emitted 38,716 megatons. Data also show that 61 percent of all of Butler’s energy use comes from electricity.

When asked for information on the cost of Butler’s electricity consumption, vice president of operations

Gerald Carlson said the information was not readily available. But he said that consumption has decreased, which is what the university tends to focus on instead of costs.

“Our consumption has been recently going down,” Carlson said. “Natural gas prices have been going up, so that is not really our concern. If consumption goes down, then we know we did things right.”

Carlson said the university is working to cut down on unnecessary consumption by encouraging students to engage in more environmentally friendly habits.

“There are some night lights that stay on outside for safety reasons,” Carlson said. “Some students study in the buildings at night, and when they leave, they do not always turn off the lights. We want to try to change student habits by putting signs in the doorways, but we do not always succeed.”

Carlson added that the university wants to move away from using steam to heat buildings, instead using hot water, which requires less natural gas to heat. So far, Irwin Library has been converted, and this year plans are for Clowes Memorial Hall to be converted as well.

Water consumption is currently not tracked at Butler, but Carlson said that it is something he expects the university will do soon.

Carlson said that it is the job of the facilities engineer to keep track of utility usage, but that position has been vacant for two and a half years.

“We do not really track water consumption, but we would like to in the near future,” Carlson said. “It is one of our goals to start.”

Administrators also implemented the PrintSmart system during the 2010-2011 school year to decrease wasteful printing.

The system allots a certain number of printing credits for each student and informs students of how their printing affects the environment.

Project Manager Tyler Johnston said administrators were originally planning to charge students this year if they went over their printing limit but decided against it.

“Last year was a pilot,” Johnston said, “but once we implemented it, we saw a huge decrease in printing, so I said, ‘Maybe we should not charge the students.’ If we can keep the printing low then we will not have to put charging in.”

Information provided by Johnston shows that the year before PrintSmart was implemented, during 2009-2010, there were an estimated 5.1 million pages printed by all students. But the year PrintSmart was installed, there were 3.7 million pages printed.

“Our goal was to curb the blatant disregard of waste and money by students,” Johnston said.
Johnston did not have information on the cost of the PrintSmart program, but said that it was reasonable compared to other alternatives.

“I would say it is cheaper and less expensive than other programs,” Johnston said.

General construction maintenance manager Craig Hardee said that he thinks the university would be most effective in minimizing its environmental impact by setting up a sustainability program.

“If we had a director of sustainability, then we would have a centralized and more focused effort to make a bigger gain instead of several different people trying to do the same thing,” Hardee said.

Carter said he believes that the only way to get Butler to improve its environmental status is by focusing on students.

“Getting students to drive environmental initiatives would be the most effective,” Carter said. “They are the ones who drive the university.”

Butler University funds ambitious projects and proclaims goals of becoming an environmentally responsible campus.

But the day-to-day decisions and functions of the university seem to contradict these efforts. Many campus buildings light up the sky every night, all night—even though most of them close at 10 p.m.

But even if it were not good for the university’s publicity, or even popular, Butler has a responsibility to its community and environment.

The university prides itself on giving students a well-rounded experience that’s not just focused on getting the job after graduation but on preparing thoughtful, passionate human beings to change the world for the better. Butler encourages responsible consumerism as part of its liberal arts philosophy.

And they’ve made real progress in some fields.

The PrintSmart system forces students to think about their paper consumption.

Department of Operations wants to upgrade the heating systems on campus to be more energy efficient.

But again, the problem is not Butler’s philosophy but its execution. At some point in between the ideology of energy conservation and other needs—like students using study spaces in Jordan Hall until 4 a.m.—the university struggles to find balance.

The real issue here, though, is not the lights themselves but the principle of the matter. Butler spends money on green projects—a virtuous pursuit if ever there was one. But then the university functions in ways that seem to completely contradict their stated goals.

In a way, it would be easier to tolerate if Butler simply didn’t attempt to be “green.”

Take the campus farm as another example. It is often mentioned as part of Butler’s vibrant efforts to change how cities are viewed in general, and how campus can be more progressive. Yet it is difficult to find, and there is very little on campus to direct more attention to it.

The university likely does support urban ecology and greener, healthier cities. But you’d never know if you didn’t read pamphlets and press releases.

Butler’s administration does not do this on purpose; there is no conspiracy. The leaders of this university have to juggle dozens of priorities. Butler is a business, a community, an educational institution and a model for forward thinking.

Bulldogs should live out these ideals, whether they are faculty, staff or students.

Gerald Carlson, vice president of operations, said he believes that environmentally responsible changes must be student driven.

To an extent, he’s right. Without students demanding better conditions, the university is not likely to change.

Personal responsibility is important but becomes almost meaningless in a community of 4,000. Students should organize and advocate for causes that matter.

However, from beginning to end, the administration has the power and responsibility to make the larger moral decisions.

The university already makes decisions all the time based not on profit but morality. Advocates of liberal arts education argue that college should be more than formalized job training and should enrich students’ lives.

Sometimes, that means taking stands before students advocate them.

Accountability starts small, though. So get the lights on your way out.

Gerald Carlson, director of maintenance, has been selected as former Vice President of Operations Mike Gardner’s interim replacement.

During his past five years on campus, Carlson would often step in when Gardner was out of town.

When Gardner left, he suggested Carlson temporarily fill the position. University President Bobby Fong wants Butler’s next president to decide who will fill the position permanently.

Carlson was chosen for the position because of his 35 years of experience in higher education, along with the time he has been at Butler.

“We are the biggest division in the university with 135 overall employees, and our budget is a little over $10.5 million a year,” Carlson said. “We take care of the life safety of the university through BUPD.”

BUPD isn’t the only part of the university that falls under his jurisdiction.

Operations are also composed of maintenance services, building services, planning design and construction, plus BUPD, which also consists of various environmental programs.

He is the person making sure the campus keeps itself “green” and the toilets flush every day.

The new school spirit-themed pansies that were planted around campus were done under Carlson’s direction.

All of the planting around campus is also environmentally friendly because it is designed in such a way that it does not need to be irrigated.

Most campuses around the country do not have a vice president of operations, but the position has been beneficial both now and in the past.

“They represent the largest number of staff that are key to the day to day functions of the university,” said Andrew Ryan, assistant chief of police. “The VP of operations is sitting at the same level of authority as other big decision makers on campus. It’s good to have someone with control.”

Ryan said the position needs someone with a basic knowledge of the subject to help explain what needs to be done and what needs funding.

Tulips and toilets aren’t the only things in Carlson’s job description. He is also involved in the development and creation of new buildings on campus.

Carlson works on efforts such as planning future buildings-to-be.

“We do a lot to lessen our carbon footprint through recycling and LEED certified buildings,” Carlson said.

Carlson said students should care about who fills the vice president of operations position.

“I would think it’s important because part of our mission is to take care of the physical learning and comfort of the students,” Carlson said. “We are an advocate for them.”

According to Ryan, the importance of Carlson’s job will continue to grow as the university continues to expand in square footage.

He said it is important to have someone accountable for taking care of the day-to-day functions at the university.