A sprinkler pipe broke in The Medium’s office, causing the office to flood and leak onto the entrance of the UTMSU’s Green Room, causing substantial damage on August 31st.
The UTMSU posted a video of the incident on their Instagram page and used the incident to highlight the need for a Student Centre expansion, a goal the union has had since 2014. In the video, water can be seen leaking from the Green Room ceiling near the info booth.
Constructed in 1999, the Student Centre was built to accommodate UTM’s population of 6,000 students. UTM’s student population today is now over 15,000.
During the 2016 Annual General Meeting, former UTMSU President Nour Alideeb proposed that a referendum on levying funds to expand the centre happen. However, since then, no steps have been taken by the UTMSU to hold a referendum.
The current executive team did not specifically state during their election campaign whether or not they would be advocating for a Student Centre expansion and have yet to release any further information on the process.
UTM’s facilities manager told The Medium that the office ceiling, as well as the ceiling outside the office, will need to be torn out and replaced.
The Medium office will be temporarily relocated until the renovations are complete.
