St. Thomas facilities received a phone call regarding a soapy and foaming fountain on John P. Monahan Plaza Monday, as facilities workers predicted someone put soap in the fountain as a prank.
“We received a call this morning about the fountain,” Nick Scallon, St. Thomas facilities grounds supervisor, said. “Someone had put soap in it, and we don’t know when or who it was.”
What seems like harmless fun to students, can be “quite an expensive deal” if damage occurs to the fountain due to the soap.
“It could affect lubrication in the pump, which will wreck it; then we’d have to buy a new one,” Scallon said. “A new pump costs anywhere from $4,000-$5,000, maybe even more.”
As photos were shared across campus of the soapy mess, some students didn’t know what to make of the situation.
“I don’t mind the soap, but I’m curious why they (whoever responsible) did that; it’s not funny,” sophomore Jonathan Vail-Vasquez said.
Sydney LaBelle can be reached at labe7208@stthomas.edu
Gwynnevere Vang contributed to this report.