JIO conducting probe of flood

The Judicial Inquiry Office is now investigating the students who allegedly started the flood in the Quadrangle's Butcher and Speakman dormitories two weeks ago. Residential Living had been leading the probe into the cause of the flood, but the JIO has taken over the investigation. Residential Living Director Gigi Simeone also indicated that more than one student said they were involved in the incident and are now being questioned by the JIO. "They came forward," Simeone said yesterday. "They are having conversations with the JIO." The flood is believed to have started when an errant lacrosse ball struck a sprinkler head on the fourth floor of Butcher during a hallway game between students. A broken sprinkler system soaked the two lower Quad dormitories with approximately 1300 gallons of warm, brown water two weeks ago, causing as much as $5000 in structural damage to the buildings and additional damage to students' personal property. The flood also forced many residents of the third and fourth floors to spend the night elsewhere, and created homework headaches when students could not return to rooms to get books for midterms or classwork. Simeone declined to elaborate on the JIO's investigation of the flood, but did not dispute the previous descriptions of its cause. Simeone said shortly after the flood that only one student had come forward at the time, and added that any kind of disciplinary action the University might take against the students "will be determined" sometime in the future. Officials said after the flood that the damage was not as bad as originally feared, but was still serious. "It was a bad situation -- I can't deny that," said James Miller, director of Fire and Occupational Safety at Physical Plant two weeks ago. "But the total damage is not as bad as I expected under the circumstances." Staff writer Scott Calvert contributed to this story.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.