Mystery Steam

One of the most mysterious creatures on the TV show “Lost” is the unmistakable smoke monster. Just like the passengers of Oceanic Flight 815, Rowan University’s students are being plagued by mysterious clouds of water vapor through the Glassboro campus.

However, students no longer need to fear as the water vapor has been proven to be non-toxic and merely a by-product of Rowan’s heating and cooling systems.

“All it is is water vapor leaking from the underneath the campus,” said Jim Vitoritt, a facilities worker.

“We use the steam to heat and cool the buildings. It’s not dangerous to anybody and doesn’t have any toxic chemicals in it, but it does get hot sometimes.”

The steam began appearing on campus two years ago, after a renovation was made to the underground piping system. The steam that comes out of the outdoor vent leaks are an excess from the existing piping system, and regular maintenance is made to control it.

While the steam may be harmless to students, it is still an often complained about nuisance.

“It sucks, I can’t breathe when I walk through it,” said Nick Campbell, a health and exercise science major. “When I’m walking to the education building, it always seems to blow right toward the middle of everything and I have to hold my breath.”

For any questions, comments or complaints contact the facilities operations administrators at 856-426-4299.