Classes continue despite heavy rain
By Ben Gilmore
Record-setting rainfall bombarded the campus on Tuesday, turning
Bruin Walk into a stream of muddy water and shortening or
eliminating classes for many students.
Although no non-Extension classes were officially cancelled
yesterday, some professors dismissed their students early due to
low turnouts. In addition, all nighttime UCLA Extension classes
were cancelled because of the storm.
However, today’s classes are scheduled to run as planned,
according to a memo from the Chancellor’s Office.
In other sections of campus yesterday, managers used their own
discretion to release employees early, the memo added.
Yesterday’s 5.28 inches of rain broke the record set for this
date in 1955, and came within half an inch of surpassing the record
for any single day in Los Angeles, James Murakami, student research
assistant from the atmospheric sciences department said.
But the rain’s significance was more than just numbers for UCLA
students as the storm caused many inconveniences on campus from
broken water mains to drips and leaks in various buildings.
The rain proved more than just inconvenient for locals drivers
when at 8:14 a.m., a 40-foot eucalyptus tree just north of
University Elementary School on Sunset Boulevard, fell on a truck
and trapped an individual inside for over half an hour, Facilities
Director Jack Powazek said.
The accident blocked three lanes on Sunset, but the man was not
seriously injured, he added.
The Court of Sciences became one of the hardest hit areas when a
water main between Young and Boelter Hall burst about 1:30 p.m.,
flooding the area between the Bombshelter, Life Sciences Building
and the Molecular Biology Institute, Powazek said.
As a result, students were diverted away from the area to
prevent them from slipping into a hole near the main, he added.
Even the computer store in Ackerman Union wasn’t safe from the
downpour. Workers had to cover computers with plastic as water from
the ceiling dripped down onto merchandise, employees said.
In addition a virtual lake formed in front of Towell Library,
leaking into the building and forcing it to close early, Rita
Scherrei, library administrator said. However no other libraries
were affected and Towell will be open during normal hours
today.
In the dorms and University Apartments, students had to deal
with annoying leaks, said Housing Administration Director Mike
Foraker. "It was nothing of a life-threatening nature," he
said.