UT students living in the Apartment Residence Hall on campus were asked to vacate their rooms on Jan. 29 due to an unexpected power outage.

The power went out at 9:30 a.m. on Monday morning.  Due to the cold weather, the students were provided with shelter at the Thompson-Boling Arena. 

"I heard of the evacuation over the intercom when I was in my room," said Andy Holt resident Sarah Hunter.  "We were told at 5 p.m. and had to be out with our belongings at 6 p.m." 

With the cold weather and the fire alarms not working, UT wanted a warm, safe place for the students to sleep.  The students had to pack up and carry all of their necessary items with them for the day.

Two hundred mattresses were placed in the arena for students to sleep on.  Although shelter in Thompson-Boling Arena was offered to the 1,000 displaced students, many chose to stay with friends.  It was not surprising to the facility services that only 75 students took advantage of the offer, while the other hundreds of students stayed with friends and relatives.

Although the residents did have to vacate the building for the night, they were compensated for their inconvenience.  Residents were given $20 to use on their Dining Dollars account.  They also received a free dinner Monday night and a breakfast the following morning.