Diners at The Gallery at Snyder-Phillips Hall were caught in a Chicken Little moment Thursday, when water poured from the ceiling and dislodged four ceiling tiles.
Tables below where the ceiling collapsed were unoccupied and, as far as bystanders could tell, nobody was hurt.
Telecommunication, information studies and media junior Ken Wisniewski had set his tray down at a table a few feet from where the tile fell.
“I was about to sit down two tables away, but I realized there was water coming down,” Wisniewski said. “I looked up and saw the water pouring, and moved away before the tile came down.”
The ceiling started leaking shortly after 9 p.m., and the ceiling tiles were just seconds behind. The general consensus from bystanders was that a water pipe had broken, but residence hall staff and MSU police could not be immediately reached for comment Thursday night.
Shortly after the ceiling started leaking, the fire alarm sounded and cafeteria staff cleared students out of the room.
Students gathered in the hallways leading into the cafeteria and looked at the still-running water through the windows. Police and fire departments arrived on the scene about 10 minutes after the tiles fell and cleared out the remaining onlookers. Witnesses didn’t panic and filed calmly out of the cafeteria.
Telecommunication, information studies and media junior Jake Barnett said he was more amused than worried.
“It’s not very often that the ceiling of the cafeteria comes down,” Barnett joked. “It was a good distraction to sneak food out.”
The Snyder-Phillips cafeteria is the only late-night dining hall in Red Cedar Complex, which encompasses Snyder, Phillips, Mason, Abbot and Shaw halls. Wisniewski and Barnett both worried that they would have to walk farther for meals after-hours.
“It’s going to limit my late night ability, because I imagine it will take a while to clean up,” Wisniewski said.
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