Wadham students found themselves locked in – and out of – the college library on Wednesday night. The card-activated door broke at around 8pm, leaving some trapped amid the tomes, with no access to a toilet. A group of finalists outside were for half an hour denied access to the 43,000 books, tantalisingly visible through the large library windows.
Conscientious students were unwilling to admit defeat however. Jamie Kenna, a third year engineer, told Cherwell, “After returning from a short break, we found a crowd gathered outside the library, claiming the door was broken. A porter came to help out, but failed and went looking for someone in works to look at it.”
The Wadhamite finalists then coordinated with a library inmate, whom they asked to open a window, and gained access by clambering through.
Kenna told Cherwell that once inside his friend “gloated our success to the others still stuck outside while I went to inspect the broken
door.”
He then found a “secret cupboard to the left of the door and, using my skills as an Engineer, was able to restore power to door control system, thereby allowing others to safely return to work for finals.”
