It’s 9:30 Wednesday morning … or is it 7:20? Maybe 10:45?

Apparently aging clocks in several buildings across campus left students and faculty alike asking questions about the time and the reasons behind the problem.

“We’ve been getting a lot of calls lately,” said Physical Plant Superintendent Edward O’Donnell. “It’s up to about 12 a day, mostly from faculty.”

O’Donnell said the main problem is not the clocks but the lack of electricians at the Physical Plant.

“We currently have nine full-time electricians and three part-time,” O’Donnell said. The one in charge of fixing the clocks has been off work because of the flu, he said.

O’Donnell said the plant has an overabundance of emergencies. “We’re about 1,000 work orders behind right now. It’s months worth of work,” he said.

Because of the manpower shortage, O’Donnell said they have had to prioritize their work.

“We have to concentrate on safety and health problems,” O’Donnell said. “The clocks are important but not a priority.”

Emergencies such as electrical safety in campus kitchens, fire alarms and power to rooms are considered priorities.

“The clocks keep losing time because they’re old,” O’Donnell said. “We need to either keep sending someone out to reset them or have someone repair them.”

O’Donnell said the repairs will be done as soon as the emergencies slow down.

“We’ll get to it when we can, but the Physical Plant is understaffed,” O’Donnell said. “Students have to be patient.”