Parts of Sanford Residence Hall flooded Tuesday night, the result of residents playing with a flying disc in the hallway, setting off sprinklers.
The incident happened around 6:45 p.m. on the fourth floor of one section of the building, known as the “Reno side,” according to a University spokeswoman.
An Instagram video posted by the account Barstool Gophers last night showed residents running down the hall through sprinklers that were spraying water. It was captioned, “Freshmen literally flooded Sanford by playing Frisbee in the hallway.”
Freshman Casey Osborne lives on the second floor of the residence hall. He is identified in the video running down the hall.
“I left my dorm to go out to the bathroom [and] water was rushing through the elevator … I was like, ‘What is this?’” Osborne said.
Osborne said he was one of the first people to the scene. “We get up to the fourth floor and it was crazy,” he said. “Water is shooting out of the wall from where a sprinkler was attached … water was just gushing out of there.”
Residence hall staff said water had leaked down multiple levels, including dorm rooms on the third floor directly under the hallway. Elevators were closed as of Wednesday morning. Sanford administrators declined to comment.
A University spokesperson said a total of 10 students were temporarily relocated; four students chose to stay in a temporary space in Sanford, while the others opted to stay with friends. The University expects the students will be able to return to their rooms sometime Wednesday evening or Thursday.
Clean-up involved extracting carpets and placing fans and dehumidifiers in impacted areas.
Osborne doesn’t know the residents responsible for the flooding, but he said, “I heard they’re in a lot of trouble.”