South Quad students packed Taylor Dining Center last night, trying to find ways to entertain themselves as the hours ticked by with no electricity and no end in sight.

Kelly Miller, assistant director of housing, gathered the students to the dining center at about 8 p.m. when electricity went off in Andrews and Taylor halls. The halls were acting as a haven for students displaced by evacuations in Thomas and Lawson, and further outages increased the sense of emergency.

Miller wanted to keep them warm and in a central location where it was easy to keep them updated, but admitted university officials were unsure when power would be restored.

She suggested that students visit friends off campus to keep them occupied, but many students were finding their own unique ways to pass the time.

Andy Lawson, a sophomore business major, tried to rally his friends to Wal-Mart to watch the New England Patriots play the Oakland Raiders on the television. However, he was more concerned about getting class work finished.

“It’s disappointing,” he said. “This is usually homework time.”

Elizabeth Allen, a freshman education major, sat in Taylor Dining with wet hair, covered with only a windbreaker and a pair of jeans. She was in the shower when she heard the alarm and grabbed what she could before being evacuated with a towel still wrapped around her head.

“Maybe on the floor,” Allen said when asked where she was going to sleep if they did not let her back in her room soon. “Maybe in Andrews lobby because it’s a little more comfortable there.”

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Emily Monts, a freshman elementary education major and Andy Monts, a sophomore physical education major, said they were giving up on the idea of getting back into their rooms soon and were debating on whether to take the 45 minute drive home.

“They told us 45 minutes, but we really didn’t believe it,” Emily Monts said.

“Are they going to ask you to go to class tomorrow if you couldn’t get back into your room until … who knows what time?” asked Andy Monts.

Most students, however, waited the power outage out, hoping to get back in their rooms and back to business as usual.

“I want to be studying for my test,” Julie Ross, a sophomore elementary education major, said as she played cards with friends. “This is my valuable time right now.”

Krystle Williams, a freshman business major, just stared at the movies she rented for the night as she talked with friends.

“I feel like I’m homeless,” said her companion, DeAnglea Jenkins, a freshman pre-med major.

Jared Bledsoe, a freshman pre-engineering major and Trip Krenz, a freshman biology major, were hoping to take quick showers and work on homework, but found themselves passing the time in Taylor Hall lobby before students were herded into Taylor Dining.

“We pass the time by making fun of each other,” Bledsoe said, who hopes the evacuation will give him a good excuse to get out of class tomorrow.

Michaela Livingston, a sophomore consumer affairs major, said she smelled smoke at the bottom of the hallway as she was evacuating and knew she should prepare to get few hours of sleep.

“I’ll be up pretty late tonight doing homework,” she said. “Before this I didn’t have power in my room.”

While most students complained about the inconvenience of being kept out of their rooms, others were upset that were kept in the dark for the first part of the night.

“The scariest part is that they don’t tell you what’s going on,” said Nicky Nolan, a junior journalism major. “They just tell you that your going to be out.”

At about 10 p.m., a half an hour before power was restored in Andrews and Taylor hall, Miller allowed students to return to their rooms with no electricity and only dim lights to guide them.

“You got a little bit of light and you got a fire alarm,” she said. “We want you to be safe so just take a little bit of patience.”

I know that if it were me, I would want to just go to bed even if I had no electrify, Miller said.

Fire officials said the building was safe for students. University officials needed Ameren CIPS to fix the generator problem before university electricians could repair any school equipment.

“It’s a big problem,” said Gary Reed, superintendent of utilities. “It’s a big challenge to get the campus back up.”