By this time, you may be sick of reading about Hurricane Sandy. You know, that storm that ravaged the East Coast but seemed to leave our hill relatively unscathed?
Before Sandy arrived, I had mixed emotions. Part of me couldn’t believe the campus could actually lose power, or that a hurricane that had already traveled so far would still be strong by the time it reached us. The other part of me was terrified when I heard that the bread and water aisles in major grocery stores were empty in New London. So my attitude fluctuated between apathetic and alarmist; at no point did I really feel like I had a realistic grip on the situation. Lucky for me, the college did.
To prepare, I filled up my gas tank, bought a couple gallons of spring water and refused to unplug my computer or iPhone all day on Monday, for fear of power loss. And I thought I had aggressively prepared. In the meantime, however, the Emergency Response Team was discussing contingency plans as early as one week before the storm hit. And from my discussion with Ulysses Hammond, it seems like they had thought of everything.
From generators to stockpiled food, the Team had the basics covered. But even luxuries, like a cell phone charging station, were worked into the hurricane response plan. They even had the Campus Safety gatehouse working the phones, fielding phone calls from worried parents who were anxious about how the campus would fare in the unpredictable weather.
In my opinion, the best aspect of our college’s response was their use of technology. Not only were my parents kept well informed by emails, but the Office of College Relations also sent out updates to students immediately after each Emergency Response meeting, with updated closure times for important facilities like the library and fitness center. Moreover, for students on Twitter, the college was certainly present via @ConnCollegeLive – a venue where students interacted with staff, asked questions or just tweeted to let everyone reading know that they were safe.
When praising the emergency response effort, it would be impossible to forget the staff. I had a conversation with a Dining Services worker on Monday morning who wasn’t sure if she’d be able to get home Monday night, but came to work anyway. While dishing up a salad at dinner on Monday, a Campus Safety officer told me how, while patrolling campus, he had to brace himself against his car during one of the strong gusts of wind. What’s more remarkable than what these staff members did for us on campus, is what they sacrificed at home to do so. Many left their families and kids alone in the storm so they could serve the students.
In the aftermath of the storm, being on campus can almost convince us that Sandy didn’t even happen, and some students have treated the storm like a joke. A short drive to any neighboring town, however, shows another side of the story. At the time of this writing, many residents are still without power. Approximately 110 people have died in the U.S., and many others are missing. Places like New York City and the Jersey Shore will be recovering for years to come.
The fact of the matter is we got lucky for two reasons. First, our elevated location is what most likely saved us from the worst of it. But second, even if we hadn’t been as lucky, I’m confident that we would have been safe and well-taken care of thanks to extensive planning on the part of our school. The majority of those hit by this storm didn’t have an infrastructure of emergency responders to make contingency plans on their behalf. Joking about the storm only reduces the importance of the college’s hard work.
It’s in situations like this that we are reminded exactly how much of a bubble college life can be. Most of us, whether due to ignorance or simply being too busy to follow the storm, didn’t realize that Sandy could generate the destruction that she did. The efforts of the college to keep us safe made me question whether or not, if I had been out in the real world and not on a college campus, I would have known enough to properly prepare.
On behalf of my entire staff, we would like to say thank all who contributed to the storm effort – from the staff that left behind their own families to monitor our safety and cook our meals, to those who kept us updated via a nearly constant stream of information and provided activities to keep us occupied: thank you.
