Gas Shutdown Shutters Some Pace University Dorms; Some Students Forced To Sleep At Gym

PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Some students at the Pace University campus in Pleasantville were instructed to sleep in the gym Wednesday night, after a gas shutdown forced the evacuation of several dorms.

Con Edison shut down the gas on the campus in Westchester County, and housing, food services, transportation and events were affected, Pace said in an announcement.

All classes will continue as scheduled, but for the safety of the Pace Westchester community in Pleasantville and Briarcliff, all dorms on the Pleasantville campus were evacuated, according to the announcement.

All students were ordered to be out of the dorms by 10 p.m., at which point they were locked.

Those students who had the option of going home to their family's houses were advised to do so, and were ordered to notify school officials if they were. Pleasantville students were also allowed to stay with students in the Briarcliff campus dorms, which remained open.

The Wilcox Hall gym was also used as a temporary housing site for students who could not go home or stay in a Briarcliff dorm. Cots were set up in the gym for students to sleep, and students were advised to take what they needed for a few days because dorms would remain off limits.

The complete list of buildings closed because of the gas shutdown included the Kessel Student Center, the Goldstein Fitness Center, Martin Hall, North Hall, Townhouses, Paton House, the Environmental Center Classroom, the Administration Building, and the Gannett Houses.