Diamond Jenkins
Blue & White Flash / Managing Editor
The first week of the fall 2012 semester at Jackson State University found students and others watching the weather. What started out as a tropical depression turned into Category One Hurricane Isaac that made landfall on the Gulf Coast on Tuesday Aug. 28, producing severe thunderstorms, high winds, tornadoes, and causing power outages to approximately 500,000 homes in Mississippi.
For those who remembered the severity of Hurricane Katrina that struck Mississippi seven years ago on the same date, much attention was given to safety and preparation. Jackson State officials took lessons learned from Katrina and applied them to their emergency management plans, which included constant monitoring of the storm, frequent updates to the campus community and precautionary alerts.
The threat of the storm coupled with flash flooding and partial power outages on the Jackson State campus caused the closure of classes and non-essential offices from Wednesday, Aug. 29 until after the Labor Day Holiday on Sept. 4.
The major impact felt at Jackson State was the loss of power in several residence centers and the campus dining hall. Because Dixon and Stewart Halls and Heritage Dining are on an older system, newer power lines will have to replace old ones.
According to Housing Director Vera Jackson, everyone was prepared to carry out their emergency plan based on weather conditions. Although housing officials were prepared to move students to the Walter Payton Center and T.B. Ellis Gymnasium, that was not necessary because facility and power crews were able to isolate the problem areas.
Students and other were kept informed through a variety of ways, including the university website and emergency messaging system.
Tameka Allen , a political science freshman from Kankakee, Ill., said: “During the week of the storm, I was in the transition dorms. The power went out for a few hours, but I feel that the students were given instructions to stay in our rooms until we were able to receive updates on the weather,” said Allen, “I was getting updates through Twitter on what safety precautions I had to take.”
Tenesha Hughes a junior mass communications major from Columbus, Miss., said: “I think that the University took the proper safety precautions. Nobody on campus was hurt and everyone had instant notification as to what happened.”
Dr. Marcus Chanay, vice president for Student Life, said in a video posted to the JSU website: “We have measures in place to accommodate and provide for the welfare of our students in case of bad weather. We want to reassure parents and others that we are in constant contact with the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency National Weather Service. We have a designated person on campus to provide constant updates and weather alerts.”
Contractors continue to work on Heritage Dining, Stewart Hall and Dixon Hall, and work is scheduled to be completed by Saturday, Sept. 8.
