KU students evacuated during storm as historic scholarship hall sustains damage
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- A section of brick fell from Stephenson Scholarship Hall during high winds early Monday.
- No injuries were reported, and residents were allowed to retrieve belongings.
- All Stephenson residents received temporary room assignments in another campus community.
No one was injured, but some University of Kansas students have been given temporary housing accommodations after Stephenson Scholarship Hall sustained major storm damage early Monday morning, KU confirmed.
“Around 4 a.m. Monday, with the morning’s high winds, a section of brick on the upper south side of Stephenson Scholarship Hall fell from the building and onto portions of the fire escape and ground,” university spokesperson Erinn Barcomb-Peterson said in an email.
No student spaces inside the building were affected, she said.
“Housing & Residence Life and Facilities Services staff responded on site,” Barcomb-Peterson said. “They made sure residents were accounted for, and students were allowed to enter the building to retrieve their belongings. All Stephenson residents have been given a temporary room assignment in another on-campus community.”
An entire section of bricks beneath the gable roof on the south side of the building appeared to have been dislodged in the storm. As of Tuesday afternoon, debris had been cleared from the ground but a sizable pile of bricks remained on the third-story fire escape. The deluge of bricks appeared to have damaged the railing on the fire escape and rendered it inaccessible.
“Debris removal is in process, and contractors are lined up to quickly address the damaged areas — the fire escape and the section where the brick fell,” Barcomb-Peterson said. “With those damages addressed, the fire escape will be accessible, and students can safely return.”
She said Stephenson residents have not yet been given a timeline for when they will be allowed to return to the hall.
Opened in 1952, Stephenson is a “men’s scholarship hall” that accommodates about 50 students, the Housing & Residence Life website says. It adds that the building is one of eight scholarship halls listed on the National Register in the University of Kansas East Historic District.
Barcomb-Peterson said Monday’s storm also caused electrical power to be lost in parts of the Lawrence campus, and multiple trees were damaged in the area.
“We are thankful that no one was hurt in our community during Monday morning’s severe weather,” Housing Director Sarah Waters told The Star in a statement. “We are also appreciative of the quick response of staff and cooperation of students inside our buildings.”
