Thursday marked the third time this semester a campus building was affected by an air unit inadequacy.
Ohio University students wanting to work out in Ping Center early Thursday might have noticed the building was warmer than usual due to the mechanical failure of its chiller. Though the center is now open with a properly-working chiller, that is the third incident we’ve reported of a malfunctioning chiller since the start of classes.
The university should put an effort into inspecting buildings to make certain that all of its facilities properly work. That way, it would not have to fix broken equipment after a problem arises.
On Sept. 9, all classes in Ellis Hall were canceled because of a similar predicament. The university canceled classes due to an “inability to manage” the temperature of the building, which at one point was 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Classes in that same building were forced to meet in different locations in the summer of 2014 because the building’s cooling tower failed.
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An OU professor wrote The Post a letter voicing his frustrations with the university as he felt the issue in the building should have been addressed well before the university stepped in. We agree.
Three weeks later, another building on campus, Copeland Hall, had a chiller failure, which left students and teachers in those classrooms in an uncomfortable learning environment.
There would likely be far less discontent if the university temporarily shut down a building to repair portions of it before an issue occurs then there would be after students discover a problem themselves. When this happens, the university is forced to do damage control on the situation, something it could altogether avoid by being more proactive.
Editorials represent the majority opinion of The Post's executive editors: Editor-in-Chief Emma Ockerman, Managing Editor Rebekah Barnes, Opinion Editor Will Gibbs and Digital Managing Editor Samuel Howard. Post editorials are independent of the publication's news coverage.
