Students hoping to do some late night studying in Alden Library had their plans interrupted Thursday, as most of the university lost power around 12:30 a.m.
Affected areas included College Green and some residence halls. After about 10 seconds of darkness, the university's backup power system was able to keep the emergency lighting on.
An employee who answered the phone at facilities management said electricians were already out working on the issue and that the university does not know the cause of the outage as of press time.
Once electricians identify the issue, an estimate would be given on how soon power could be restored.
"We made the last minute decision to study late at night," Courtney Ritchey, a junior studying integrated media, said. "As soon as I stepped in the library, all the lights went out."
Ritchey, who was studying for a presentation in language and gender, said she planned to check if Schoonover Center had power before heading home.
Cameron Au, a senior studying history, said the power outage also canceled his plans to study.
"I've never experienced, in my four years at OU, such an omen to go home."
Alex Chunuk, a freshman studying finance accounting, said he hadn't even realized the power had gone out while he was walking back to his dorm, but the outage would affect him.
"If I go home, I gotta charge my phone, I'm at like 20 percent," Chunuk said. "It's definitely an inconvenience. I got an electric toothbrush, it's gonna be rough."
Taylor Britain, a junior studying entrepreneurship, said he was sitting at one of the computer stations in Alden when the power went out.
"I was sitting doing some math problems, and ... it went black," Britain said. "Everybody was like "'woah, what's happening' and laughing."
Britain added he believes squirrels were behind the outage.
"(It was) probably a squirrel biting an electrical wire," he said. "It's happened in the past, I'm betting it's happening now. A squirrel gave its life for a good cause."
