In Quad, the sky really is falling

For a freshman, college is a new world with new classes, people and living situations. But no one expects this new world to come crashing down around them within the first week. Literally. But that's what happened to College freshman Eric Lederman. Last Friday, one day after freshman move-in, the new student returned to his dorm room in Community College House in the Quadrangle to find a large section of his ceiling sitting on his floor. Lederman recounted his shock at discovering a gaping hole in his new home. "I was looking forward to comingS and then the ceiling started falling down." Fortunately, Lederman was not in his room when the disaster occurred. Of his personal belongings, only a plastic fan was damaged. According to Lederman, someone on his floor reported hearing a loud noise from his room while he was away. "Someone heard a big crash from, like, seven doors down," he said. Though the University offered to put Lederman up in the Penn Tower Hotel after the accident, Lederman opted to stay with a friend before receiving his new, permanent room in Goldberg College House in the Quad. When Lederman arrived on freshman move-in day, he reported a leak in his ceiling to maintenance. Though maintenance was in the process of looking into the leak, the ceiling collapsed before the problem could be addressed. According to Lederman, this leaky piping led to the disaster. Community House is currently undergoing a large renovation project that includes installing thermostat-controlled heating and cooling in each room, renovated bathrooms and new sinks in the dorm rooms, among other things. Lederman criticized the way the University dealt with him after the disaster. "They weren't very cooperative until a couple days later," he said. College house officials did not respond to several calls for comment. Lederman also said housing officials told him he might have to move again from his new room in Goldberg until his parents spoke with University officials