The Pennington Student Activity Center has encountered its fair share of troubles in the past few years. It is suffering from a shortage in staff, having to pay for the additional expenses for utilities and custodial finances and, the most recent fiasco, flooded basketball courts. The flood incident occurred in the fall semester of 2010, when a student, who has requested to remain anonymous, decided to play football on the basketball court.

 The student threw his football directly through the curve in the pipe structure, knocking the sprinkler head clear off. This caused a rapid down pour of the water within the pipe, flooding the courts within twenty minutes resulting in over $100,000 worth of damage. While the repairs are being covered by the insurance company, the Pennington Center is pursuing the student to cover the deductible.

The student was caught through the help of the University police.

“Campus police was here immediately,” said Dollie Hebert-Crouch, the director of the Recreational Sports and Wellness. “They did an outstanding job of finding out who did this.”

Because the water came down with such a great force and because of the “air cushion” between the wood of the court and the cement, water was able to leak through the spacer causing the destruction of the first two courts. The staff did an excellent job in immediate damage control, staying behind to get all of the water off of the floors almost immediately. Even thought the staff wiped up all of the water, there would have been greater damage in the summer if the damaged courts were not redone immediately.

Due to the repairs, only one basketball court remained open, however when the painting started all courts were closed as well as the track above the courts.

“We are working on getting the repairs finished as soon as possible, hopefully by next week, while also making sure that it is repaired to perfection,” said Hebert-Crouch.

The flood and the repair process have affected all of those who associate with the center; the staff, non-student members as well as the students. The workers have had to deal with the stress of the extra commotion along with the unhappy members.

Student worker Mandy McKell, a freshman business major, said, “The amount of people coming into the gym has decreased. Those who do still come in complain about only one court being open and about there being nowhere to play volleyball.”

The students who frequently used the courts have been greatly disappointed because of the destruction and are excited to see the courts re-open.

“It’s really sucked not being able to play basketball as much as I did before the flood. I’ve been waiting for the work to be finished and can’t wait to get back on the court with my friends,” said freshman Nursing Major, Cameron Lawrence.

To stay updated with the repairs and the finish date, contact the Pennington Student Activities Center at 985-549-5519.