Why have the bells been ringing at 3 AM?

March 30, 2006

Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.

Have the sounds of the Swarthmore bell tower been haunting your dreams? The bells usually ring from 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM, but for the last two weeks the bells have been ringing all through the night.

We spoke to Director of Maintenance Ralph Thayer, who said that the power failure on March 15th caused the problem. When the power goes out, so does the bell control system. “The fellow who had the most knowledge of the system left the employ of the college this year and frankly we’re having trouble resetting it,” said Thayer. “It could be that something got fried when the power was restored, or we could just be giving it the wrong instructions.”

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