Students and faculty in Rathbone Hall had some difficulty holding classes due to a power outage that occured Monday afternoon.

The power came back on around 5:45 p.m., though Division of Facilities could not be reached to determine the cause of the power outage.

Mat Nguyen, sophomore in electronic and computer engineering, sat at a table in the foyer area working on his homework.

"I just heard from a couple of friends it's been out for a couple of hours," Nguyen said. "I am supposed to be working in the Carter Learning Center, but the power's out."

Betsy Dunlap, senior in chemical engineering, said she was not affected by the power outage.

The outage only affected the east wing of Rathbone. She said she saw a group of people standing in the foyer, uncertain of what to do or where to go due to the lack of lights in classrooms.

One classroom door had a hastily-penned note taped to it that read, "KIN 398 Go to Ahearn Room 4, The Life Room."

Jack Xin, professor of mechanical engineering, had no power in his office. He said he noticed the lights on in Fielder Library, located inside Rathbone. He took his jump drive to the library and worked there instead of his office.

While his office had no power to work, it did not stop him from holding class.

"[The students] were pretty cool and stayed there all the time," Xin said. "We had group discussions. We could still see some things but not much."

One of Xin's fellow faculty members was locked out of his office because maintenance workers had checked all the doors in the darkened hall, found the office door unlocked and locked it.

"I was able to help him," Xin said. "He was really glad to see me."