Brick buildings on the other side of the road are tan. Shepherd's Frank Center for the Performing Arts sits across from the Butcher Center. State Department spokesman James Rubin briefs the press there daily on developments in the talks. Amid the frantic planning, a sprinkler system water pipe with 90 pounds of pressure behind it burst, buckling the Butcher Center's gym floor. Both the men's and women's basketball teams will have to find another place to play, at least temporarily.
Reporters work in an area above the damaged gym.
Dunlop said State Department staff members told him the talks may last until Jan. 14. Students are supposed to return to school Jan. 12. In the event the talks last that long, parking will be tighter because of the 200 or so spaces eaten up by the media. Two other Shepherdstown locations play a more significant part in the peace talks. Both Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Charaa are staying at the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center.