All classes in Wey Hall have been canceled until 8 a.m. on Monday due to safety concerns voiced by a student and faculty member, according to an email sent Thursday by Joshua White, interim department chair for the Department of Art. 

Classes in Wey Hall were also canceled Wednesday afternoon, according to an email sent from the Dean of the College of Fine and Applied Arts Shannon Campbell. 

Lauren Borer, a junior photography major, said she sent an email to White, Campbell and Chancellor Sheri Everts after experiencing an event that made her question the safety of Wey Hall. 

Borer walked into a classroom on the first floor of Wey Hall, the only floor still open for use during the renovation construction, when class members started to get up from their seats and move to another part of the room. Borer said she and her peers heard a thump in the ceiling and saw cracks forming on the ceiling tiles. When a faculty member inspected behind the tiles, they discovered a concrete core with jagged edges about the size of a roll of toilet paper, Borer said. 

“It has been determined that during Spring Break, while contractors were drilling, concrete debris fell into the ceiling tiles, and the contractor failed to follow approved university safety protocols,” Campbell wrote. 

The Construction Manager at Risk for the project is Muter Construction LLC, according to App State’s Future website. 

In response to Borer’s email, Environmental Health, Safety, and Emergency Management Director Jason Marshburn wrote in an email that Muter Construction has taken “appropriate personnel actions to address identified problems.” 

Campbell wrote that while the building is closed, additional safety inspections and safety meetings will be held. 

After receiving responses from various members of App State’s administration, Borer said she still has some concerns about how seriously the incident is being taken. 

Borer’s father and mother both work in property development and she said she has grown up around construction her entire life. After describing the situation to her father, Borer said she began to feel the situation was more serious than how it was being described by staff members. 

“I know that if it fell on somebody’s head it would not have done a small amount of damage,” Borer said. “You know, like that would have been a very, very bad situation if it had hit somebody.”

According to the email sent by Campbell, no debris fell through the ceiling. 

All concrete debris was cleared from above the ceiling tiles and there will be no other drilling taking place in Wey Hall for the remainder of the semester, wrote Campbell. 

Campbell’s email also addressed the concern voiced by a faculty member, saying debris was found inside a faculty member’s office, which occurred over spring break. 

Borer said she would feel more comfortable if she was able to access the safety inspection reports or any other information available about the condition of the building and its amenities. 

“It’s not just the cement that I’m worried about,” Borer said. “It’s like everything. The cement was just the breaking point of this.”

According to White’s email, students can retrieve any items they need from Wey Hall  Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“I recognize this is a stressful situation,” Campbell wrote. “For which I offer my most sincere and heartfelt apology.”

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