With both an injured student and a broken window, Alpha Hall faces a time of recovery and repair.
Brian Phillips, associate vice president of Facility and Auxiliary Operations, provided information about the restoration of the window.
“The estimated damage to the window will be approximately in the $700 range,” said Phillips. “The type of glass is readily available and can be replaced with a 24 hour turnaround once ordered, which should be sometime next week. Since being damaged, the broken window has been boarded up and is awaiting repair.”
The injured student, Caillou Dedrick, a sophomore business major, is currently in good condition.
“I was able to make it out of the incident with only three lacerations around my left eye and a deep cut on my elbow as well. St. Jude’s Hospital put eight stitches in my face and one on the elbow,” said Dedrick.
He also expressed gratitude to his friend Katrina Stump, a 2023 Biola alumna for visiting him in the emergency room and bringing him a milkshake.
Javan Ostermann, a sophomore biochemistry major, was one of resident advisors (RAs) on the first floor of Alpha. He said Dedrick got home from the hospital around 5:00 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 4, and went to classes.
Dedrick said he was able to return to his regular life as a student after the accident except that he was unable to play sports.
DETAILS OF THE ACCIDENT
The collision with the window happened on Sept. 3 in Alpha Hall, one of the university’s freshman residence halls, near Stair 4 on the first floor.
“Residents were taking turns running down the hall and back trying to break the record of 21 seconds,” said Ostermann. “A resident of the third floor was running too fast and, instead of using the door to slow himself down, he braced against the window, and then also tried to push off it to get a running start the other direction. Needless to say, the window wasn’t strong enough. He did not go through it, but his arm and face were cut up quite badly. By God’s grace both his eyes are fine, but he needed stitches.”
Dedrick said, “I was timing myself to see how fast I could run down the hall and back. The goal was to run down, hit the door, then run back. As I was running, someone came out of their dorm room and I had to adjust my path to make sure I didn’t hit them. I thought I could swing towards the door in time, but I couldn’t. I stuck my hands out to push off the glass but ended up crashing through at about 10:15 p.m. on Tuesday night.”
One of the residents on that floor, Diego Duarte, a freshman English major, heard about the accident and saw its aftermath. He was reading for Torrey when he heard the sound of glass shattering and ringing afterward. He was unsure where it came from.
When the door opened and Duarte’s roommate entered the room, he saw shattered glass and a smashed window.
RESPONSE
Benjamin Bruyninckx, senior English major and the RA floor partner of Ostermann, discovered the accident and called Campus Safety.
John Ojeisekhoba, Campus Safety chief and associate vice president, said that officers responded to the report of an injured student at Alpha and they called Emergency Medical Services.
Ostermann explained that he tried to control what happened on his floor after the accident. He said that he got there after Campus Safety arrived. He focused on making sure that the residents on his floor weren’t taking too many pictures and selfies with the broken window. Ostermann also roped off the lounge because there was blood.
“It was mostly a towel that was covered in blood sitting in the middle of the lounge. Also the bathroom had a trail of blood and a bunch of soaked paper towels,” said Ostermann.
Although the ambulance was called, Dedrick went to the hospital with a friend instead.
“Campus security came in and did some quick patching while the ambulance came, but I decided to go with Kole Kimmel, the greatest Jeep owner of all time,” said Dedrick.
WHAT NOW?
Ostermann wondered whether the cause of the incident might affect the rest of the dorms by a notice being sent out to avoid or prohibit certain behaviors and activities within the resident halls.
“It is possible that some dorms may try to enforce some sort of rule, but I don’t really foresee that happening,” said Ostermann. “However, I do hope that it wakes students up to the fact that they are not invincible.”
