The main entrance to Brooks Hall is open again after being closed for the first week of the spring semester. The doors were blocked off due to issues with the banners that hung above Brooks’ balcony, according to Joe Michael, the director of Physical Plant.
“They’re hung up with an inch-and-a-half steel bar,” Michael said, adding that the entrance was closed to avoid the possibility of the bar falling on pedestrians.
The three blue-and-gold banners — installed before the beginning of the fall semester — featured the college’s seal and welcomed the then-incoming Class of 2027.
However, strong winds during a winter storm on Jan. 9 left two of the banners secured from just one of two hooks, according to a photo provided by the college. Only the middle sign was fully intact.
The strong winds continued, knocking out power for almost 80,000 Penelec customers in northern and central Pennsylvania, the company reported on Jan. 10.
By Jan. 12 — the day most students began arriving back on campus — the two outside banners had both completely fallen down, leaving only the middle banner hanging by a single point. The entryway to Brooks was closed, and students were redirected to other points of access for the first week of classes.
Michael said that removing the last banner was delayed because of continued winter weather.
“We had to wait for the winds to die down,” Michael said.
Michael initially tried to get the contractor that installed the banners to take the signs down. When the contractor relayed that they were unable to come to campus, the college rented a lift and removed the banners on the afternoon of Friday, Jan. 19.
There are no other banners of the same type anywhere else on campus, and in the future the college will look to install banners that can be more easily removed, according to Michael.
“We’re trying to come up with a solution where we can lower them if we need to,” Michael said.