Students returned to class Friday, Dec. 6, while dozens of campus workers continued the cleanup effort after Wednesday's crippling ice storm. Details...
Classes resumed at 10 a.m. Friday, after Thursday’s entire class schedule was canceled due to the storm. Work crews continued the task of clearing numerous uprooted and damaged trees on campus.
Larry Rhodes, manager of landscaping and grounds, says hanging tree limbs are his main concern. “It’s just going to be a slow process,” Rhodes says. “I was almost fully staffed yesterday, so that worked out well. We’re just trying to get some of these limbs down.” Rhodes also said people walking around campus should be wary of falling ice and tree limbs. Maintenance staffers are working to clear walkways of ice and debris. “Some walkways should stay closed because of what’s above them,” Rhodes said.
Power outages, which have affected more than 1 million customers in North Carolina and South Carolina, also struck parts of the Elon campus. Nearly 600 students in Danieley Center residences and some other local apartment complexes were without power until late Friday. Senior Megan Livengood from Raleigh, N.C., was one of the students in the dark at Danieley on Thursday night, but she says she and her friends made the best of it.
“We went to the library for a while to study, and then we went to Wal-Mart to buy Uno cards,” Livengood said. “Then we came back and played Uno by candles and flashlights until we couldn’t stay awake.” She said 3 shirts, pajama pants and 4 layers of blankets kept her warm. “This doesn’t bother me all that much, because when we had Hurricane Fran in 1996, we were without power for 10 days in Raleigh.” Duke Power says electricity may not be restored to parts of campus until Saturday or later.
Chris Pollard, a sophomore from New Orleans, made his Smith dorm room available to two students from Danieley Center Thursday evening. He said he and his friends enjoyed the weather by staging a snowball fight and playing football in the snow. He planned to spend most of Friday studying for exams, which will begin on schedule Saturday. “All of this weather isn’t a distraction from exams for me,” Pollard said.