Work Sample #9: "Stouffer Apartments experience technical difficulties"

Residents of Stouffer Place Apartments have been without phone or data service for about three weeks.

Bill Myers, director of information services, said that a cable that was underground for a while and was damaged several times because of construction was responsible for the outage.

The cable was spliced and repaired several times, and some of the splices failed when water seeped through the outer casing.
Some parts of the cable were replaced entirely, and the new cable was expected to go “online” on Monday.
Diana Robertson, director of student housing, said that the University did everything it could to help residents. She said the Burge Union computer lab was made available to all Stouffer Place residents, and residents were encouraged to bring their children.
Stouffer Place houses non-traditional and married students.

The University also made 27 cell phones with prepaid minutes available. Robertson said that a month’s service would be refunded to residents affected.
Residents were kept up to date through fliers on their doors four different times over the month.
Myers said that although residents will not be charged for April, it will not show up on the bill until May 21.
“Nobody likes being without service, but we’ve tried to provide some alternatives,” Myers said.
Myers said that he has heard mostly gratitude from Stouffer Place residents for what the University was doing.