Students attending the “Not Exactly Naked” themed party at the Co-op House last Friday were forced to end the festivities early when a pipe exploded in the basement.The party, which was open to the entire campus, was the second of its kind. People were supposed to dress in anything except traditional clothing.
There were preparations in place to avoid any complications, explained co-op member Meera MacDonald.
When the pipe exploded, co-op members ushered students efficiently out of the building and called security, explained Jason Levin-Koopman.
Students turned off valves to temporarily prevent more water from flooding the basement. No serious damage was reported, nor were any serious injuries.
Levin-Koopman said that security came immediately to help.
“If there’s an emergency, someone is there for you,” he noted.
MacDonald attended a special university-sponsored workshop before the party so that safety could be maintained.
“We believed we were having a safe party, and then the pipe broke,” she said.
MacDonald explained that, although published on their posters, the promise of a fog machine was broken because of concerns about safety.
The co-op took the neccesary steps to insure the party was entirely above the board, registering it the school, and carding Students at the door of the house to prevent underage drinking.
Amy Seeboth, one of three students in charge of the party, explained that great lengths were taken to keep the party fun but also safe for the campus.
Jacob Teichroew, who was playing his saxophone with a small band in the basement during the party, was present when the pipe exploded.
“It was very strange,” he said. “I looked up and someone was sort of leaning on the pipe, and then suddenly it exploded!”
Teichroew and the other musicians brought their instruments upstairs immediately to protect them from any danger posed by the water. None of the musicians’ equipment was damaged.
The pipe was made of thin metal and came from the ceiling down to the floor, about six inches away from a cement column in the middle of the basement.
Since the incident, the pipe has been capped off by Lawrence plumber Larry.
The plumber reported that the coupling came apart on the pipe, causing it to burst as it did.
He also added that “those kids were certainly nice as all heck” when he went to fix the pipe last Monday.
Seeboth expressed relief that the emergency was taken care of.
“I’m just really grateful that nothing worse happened,” she said.