After a recent inquiry from The Equinox, facility services discovered and resolved an issue with the campus carillon bell, which was not chiming on the hour as it was supposed to.
“We’ve found the issue and it is working again,” said Colin Burdick, assistant director of facility services. “We think it may have been inadvertently turned off; we did find that door open,” he added.
Burdick said the carillon bell is a major landmark in campus history, having been replaced multiple times over the years.
After falling into disrepair, the bell was replaced by a new automated carillon that played songs such as “Here Comes the Sun,” according to previous Equinox reporting.
“It was an old analog system, around thirty years old, that reached a point where it had been broken beyond repair,” said Burdick. Four years ago, this iteration of the bell was replaced by a newer computer-based system that we use today.
However, with each new upgrade, technological issues have appeared, Burdick said.
“This has happened before, where it shorts out or something, but people on campus are quick to remind us or let us know,” said Burdick. “It’s really ‘Set it and forget it, until stuff like this happens.”
But this time, Burdick said nobody reminded him or his facilities crew.
“For it to be down, for maybe a month, caught us off-guard, and we’re shocked that this thing has been down for a month and nobody has said a thing,” said Burdick.
The chimes may have gone unreported, but not unheard.
“I heard them at the beginning of the year, but I haven’t heard them in months,” said first-year student Kali Ward, reflecting on the absence of the chimes.
Many students like Ward had noticed the silence, but did not report it, while others, such as junior Ryker Kimball, were not aware there was a campus bell system at all. “I guess I must’ve tuned it out,” he said.
Burdick noted that students and staff may have simply grown accustomed to the chimes and now filter them out, which makes it hard to notice when passing.
“It’s a little unfortunate that we found out through an interview request,” said Burdick, “We were surprised we didn’t get a work order for it.” He reminded students to use the work order system when they notice an issue.
Xander Noel can be contacted at
xnoel@kscequinox.com
