Brittany Westerberg

A “bad odor” was responsible for the evacuation of Caldwell Hall at 12:45 a.m. April 18.

Police responded at 11:58 p.m. April 17 to a report of a suspected chemical or gas leak in Caldwell Hall. Officials think that an outside odor came in through the ventilation system, causing four students to become light-headed and nauseous.

“We kind of thought it smelled like paint thinner or permanent marker,” said Bethany Wuttke, a sophomore human development and family studies major.

“It was really strong in the bathrooms,” said Amanda Settje, a sophomore clinical lab science major.

Officials evacuated and closed the building when they could not determine the source of the odor. Students were sent to The Union while police called the physical plant to have someone come and check it out. Garry Yarrow, director of environmental health and safety, was sent to check the air quality, and when it proved to be clean, they reopened the building.