What’s up with the damaged gate?
The damaged gate. Credit: M Yeager
A section of the gate surrounding campus was run into. What’s next?
By M Yeager
On Feb. 18, a vehicle drove into the northwest section of the gate surrounding campus before driving off. The St. Paul Police Department was called and made aware of the damage, and the damaged section of the gate was sectioned off with caution tape. Facilities was made aware of the damage the following morning and is working on assessing the damage to find how to best repair it.
The location of the damaged gate. Credit: M Yeager
Due to the gate and its mansory being antique, the process of assessing the damage and making a plan to fix it is more complex than if the fence were built more recently.
“When you are working with antique facilities, you need to figure out what was in use [at the time of initial construction],” said Director of Facilities Lisa Babbs. “It’s very similar to the work being done in the chapel.”
One of the looming questions is if the gate needs to be repaired or rebuilt. In either case, Facilities will try to match the materials that were used in the initial construction.
Sometimes, though, those materials are not available. “The question then is how do you get modern materials that will match?” said Babbs.
A close-up of the pillar. Credit: M Yeager
At the time of speaking with Babbs, Facilities is currently requesting estimates for both repair and replacement scenarios, as well as negotiating with possible contractors.
There was no communication about the damaged gate from Facilities, and many students were not aware of the damage.
Some students noticed the damage while traveling to and from campus. “I saw it while driving to campus,” said Katie Knox ‘26 (Data Science). She expressed that she had not known what happened, but only that the gate was damaged.
While the location of the damage is on a sparsely used portion of campus behind the Jeanne d’Arc Auditorium and Whitby, it poses a potential security risk. “I know for a lot of students and families, the fence surrounding campus helps give a sense of safety and protection,” said Megan Cohen ‘25 (Philosophy, Arts and Humanities/English minors).
Knox called for the University to provide more information regarding this and other things that happen on campus, saying, “I wish there was more communication about it so we were aware of what was going on on campus.”
When the repairs begin, students and community members can expect there to be cones, tape or a construction fence around the area and for the section of the sidewalk that runs along the gate to be partially closed.
