Time flies in Linda Sagrestano’s psychology class.

Sagrestano, an assistant professor in psychology, said the clocks in her lecture hall have her doing double-takes since the start of the semester.

After a glance at one of those clocks she may discover that her one hour-classes span three hours or more. Sometimes Sagrestano is able to watch hours pass in 30 seconds or less.

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“I was a little taken aback the first time I saw the hands spinning around,” Sagrestano said.

It appears that time is on the students’ side. Watching the clocks of SIUC can be a nauseating experience for even the most ardent time keepers.

The hands of time on the campus-wide clock system have been spinning and displaying incorrect times on several occasions this semester because the machine that sends the correct time to each clock has been malfunctioning.

The problem lies within the signal generator in the Physical Plant that usually sends the correct time to each clock on campus. Normally, the signal generator corrects each clock’s time to the second on the hour.

But lately, the generator has sent incorrect signals, which cause the clocks to spin until the hands reach the incorrect time specified by the signal. However, the system often corrects itself within the next hour.

Scott Pike, building maintenance superintendent at the Physical Plant, said that this is not the first time the school clocks have gone haywire.

“It’s a pretty old system, and there have been problems before,” he said. “Once, they had to take the whole thing out and replace the bearings.”

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Pike said parts have been ordered for the generator, but it is uncertain how soon it can be fixed, or what the price tag for parts will be.

“It takes some time to acquire parts for it because of its age, and more parts might have to be ordered,” he said.

While the clocks have not caused major problems, Sagrestano said students who do not carry their own timepieces might have a tough time during a test.

“When a professor is giving an exam, the process really depends on the clock,” she said. “Both students and instructors are watching closely.”