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Hamilton College House's renovations over the summer have left hazards for those using bathroom heat lamps. [Mary Kinosian/DP File Photo]

Bathroom heat lamps in Hamilton College House rooms were mistakenly painted during summer renovations -- causing the lamps to shatter when the coating of paint over the light traps heat in the bulb.

Residents have been notified of the problem and no one has been hurt by shattering lamps, according to officials.

Calling the number of affected lamps "nominal," Tony Sorrentino, director of external relations for the Office of the Executive Vice President, said that "they were all replaced immediately."

Yet College junior Rachel Biller -- who was mid-shower last Wednesday when her lamp shattered -- remains without either a replacement or, in her mind, a sufficient explanation.

"I was really shaken up by the whole situation, and when we called Facilities Services to tell them the lamp had exploded, they responded, 'Another one?'" Biller wrote in an e-mail. "That comment made me really upset because if this was a problem that had been happening often, there should have been a warning sent out about it."

After her own lamp shattered, Biller notified Hamilton House Dean Tabitha Dell'Angelo, who then sent out an e-mail to the house listserv.

Directing residents to contact Facilities Services immediately, Dell'Angelo warned students against using the lamps.

"As far as I know, there was only one person that was in the bathroom" when a lamp shattered, she said. "Facilities was really diligent."

The number of affected students is undetermined, according to Hamilton Building Operations Manager Frank Sistrunk, because calls are still coming in from residents who have noticed paint on their lamps and become concerned.

"It's hard to even count them," Sistrunk said of the incoming calls, noting that "at the present moment, they're being taken care of."

As for Biller, she does not consider the problem taken care of.

"This doesn't really affect what I think about the renovations of High Rise North... but I am appalled that the construction company could be so ignorant about this problem," Biller wrote. "I think it's pretty obvious not to completely paint over a lamp, and clearly in their attempt to finish painting quickly, they just did whatever they could to get every room done."

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