Campus briefs

Water incidents affect Benson basement

Water leaked into the basement of Benson Memorial Center last week, damaging some offices of student organizations.

One flow of water came from a sprinkler on the first floor near the information desk. The sprinkler went off when a student hit it with a set of keys he was throwing to another student, said Jeff Charles, director of facilities.

"We probably had 2,000 gallons of water in 30 minutes," he said.

The offices of The Santa Clara and The Redwood had water leaking through their ceilings. Old copies of the The Santa Clara Review and The Redwood were damaged as well.

Due to a different leak, facilities also closed a stairwell in Benson on Wednesday.

"This particular one -- which was very pesky to find -- really began sometime early Sunday morning," Charles said.

Puddles began to form on the stairs after water leaked through a seam in the wall.

The source turned out to be a leaky cast iron pipe. Charles said the leak was probably due to the age of the pipe.

Senior Ball to take place next month

The senior class received news last week that although the actions of previous senior classes had threatened the tradition, the annual event would not be canceled this year.

"Although we were disappointed by the behavior of some students in the past two Senior Balls and other events, the university will move forward with planning a Senior Ball in the spring," said Jeanne Rosenberger, vice provost for student life, in an e-mail to the senior class.

The ball will be planned by the university, and the planning staff will look to the Senior Week planning committee for some assistance, the e-mail said. Tickets to the ball will cost $125, Collins said via e-mail.

"While this is a higher price than was charged in the past, the overall cost of the experience is likely to be much less," Collins said in the e-mail. "There will no longer be hotel costs associated with this event."

APB announces spring events

The Activities Programming Board will host three main events this quarter.

DJ Eli Glad will play in the Bronco Saturday night at 9:30 p.m. Gym Class Heroes will perform April 28 with special guests The Relay Co. Comedian BJ Novak from the television show The Office will perform a standup comedy routine May 4 at 7:30 p.m.

From staff reports. E-mail news@thesantaclara.com.