The Miami Hurricane: September 26, 2017

September 26 - October 2, 2017 Vol. 96 | Issue 2

IRMA STORMS

CAMPUS

Hurricane challenges UM community, calls for unprecedented measures PLANS COME TO FRUITION: FRUITION: Piles of debris covered the University of Miami Coral Gables campus in the days after powerful Hurricane Irma tore through the Florida Keys and west Florida two weeks ago. It was a historic storm for UM.

Vanessa Gonzalez-Gomez // Contributing Photographer

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NEWS

THE MIAMI HURRICANE

September 26 - October 2, 2017

FINANCE

Financial aid office offers extra emergency aid to students post-Irma

By Isabella Cueto Editor-in-Chief

Any University of Miami student financially impacted by recent natural disasters may be eligible for additional emergency funds from the university’s Office of Student Financial Assistance and Employment (OSFAE).

UM is allowed to distribute the funding because of an emergency declaration made by the Department of Education, OSFAE Executive Director Raymond Nault-Hix said.

The funding will go toward covering “education-related essentials” – expenses students incurred to be safe during the storm, which may include airfare, hotel stays and meals.

Nault-Hix said OSFAE will pull money from wherever possible to provide emergency assistance to students in the shortest amount of time possible. Each

application submitted before the Oct. 6 deadline will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

In order to qualify, students must submit documentation and proof of payment of the expenses and a completed 2017-2018 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form.

Students must have remaining eligibility for federal assistance. Personal property damage is not covered because it is typically covered by insurance, but students may be eligible for funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

If students have any questions, NaultHix advised to call the OSFAE, which has extended call hours until 6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday.

The phone number is 305-284-6000 (option 2 for undergraduate students, option 3 for law or graduate students; medical students should call 305-284-6211).

A Note from the Editor The past few weeks at The Miami Hurricane have been an exercise in breaking news reporting, on-the-ground community monitoring and perfecting our digital workflow.

We were caught off-guard by a massive storm – the one this entire issue is about – and our staff responded with nonstop online coverage, before, during and after the hurricane.

Though challenging for a number of reasons outside our control, our team was able to bring our audience updates as soon as they happened, harnessing both social media and, surprisingly, landlines to make things happen.

Now, as we print our second physical newspaper this semester, we are reflecting on how increasingly important it is to be a digital-first newsroom and creating strategies to pull the best forms of teamwork from our hurricane coverage into everything we do.

That means that as we switch our weekly print date from Thursdays to Tuesdays, our dedication to covering issues that matter,

thoroughly and consistently, has not changed.

We are more committed than ever to getting creative with the way we tell stories, adapting our content to the changing tastes of our readership. As a staff, we are excited about the possibilities digital offers – expansion into audio, video and more photojournalism, as well as finding alternate revenue streams.

The ever-new media landscape has no rules anymore, so it gives us at The Hurricane an opportunity to experiment and take risks, especially given that we are a teaching newsroom that offers students a chance to learn journalism with training wheels.

The Hurricane will more than likely undergo more changes in the coming months and years, but be assured we are still by students, for students.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach me directly at editor@themiamihurricane.com Sincerely, Isabella Cueto, Editor-in-Chief

September 26 - October 2, 2017

THE MIAMI HURRICANE

NEWS

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HURRICANE

University protocol, morale put to the test during Irma’s historic wrath

By Isabella Cueto Editor-in Chief

Hurricane Irma was the largest storm in recent memory for many Floridians. For the University of Miami, it brought many firsts: first mandatory evacuation of campus, first relocation of residential students into shelters, first cancelation of classes for almost three weeks. For students, it brought countless new experiences, such as preparing for a catastrophic Category 4 storm and deciding whether to evacuate and face the traffic or stay in place and hope for the best.

Early on, Hurricane Irma was declared a monster. Images compared its size to Andrew – the last major hurricane to hit Florida – and government officials and news media urged the public to stock up and strap down for a disastrous event. The projected path of the storm barreled directly through the east coast of Florida, hitting Miami with 180 mph winds, but the storm turned and brushed the west coast of the state instead.

Hurricane Irma spared the east coast from the brunt of the storm but devastated Caribbean islands and the Florida Keys.

As frequent news reports piled up and friends evacuated, locals descended upon grocery store shelves of water and nonperishable food items, drained gas stations and stood in lines for hours to buy plywood to cover up windows and doors.

The University of Miami, having learned from

the backlash and commotion during Hurricane Matthew in 2016, called off classes Sept. 5, four days before South Florida was expected to feel the effects of Irma.

Even with advance notice of class cancelations , students sat on their laptops for hours trying to find affordable flights out of Florida, debating the dangers of staying and coming up with plans B, C and D. Flight prices skyrocketed within hours of the cancelation announcements, and, with the mass exodus of South Floridians, northbound traffic screeched to a halt.

Some students suffered through hours of layovers at multiple airports; others bore the cost of flying home full-price and coughed up hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars for safety; and the less than 150 students who remained on campus – many of them international students – were told they would be moved to an off-campus university shelter.

By Sept. 8, the only people on the university campus were emergency personnel who volunteered to serve during the storm, some groundskeepers finishing up preparations and administrators who moved into the campus Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and hunkered down. In total, this group of deans, communications experts, top university officials and emergency management crew worked for 10 days out of the EOC, spending four days in the center without going home.

From that control center, the team

orchestrated Emergency Notification Network (ENN) alerts to be sent out to the UM community, watched the progress of the storm and made tough calls about what timeline the university would operate on before, during and after the emergency.

Those in the EOC were the same people who first stepped on a debris-covered campus once the storm passed, documenting the damage and planning the removal of hundreds of thousands of pounds of fallen trees, leaves and branches from campus. Matt Shpiner, the director of the Office of Emergency Management who oversaw the entire operation, said he logged at least 220 hours since Labor Day. Once Hurricane Irma was over and all that remained were downed power lines, spotty cell signal and darkened streets littered with trees, UM administration considered the next most pressing question: What would this mean for fall semester?

The revised academic calendar, which was met with a mixed bag of responses ranging from relief to anger, introduced an extension of the semester until Dec. 20 and the elimination of Family Weekend, Fall Break and finals week.

Instead, students will take exams during regular class time and professors will revise syllabi at their own discretion. All classes would resume Sept. 25, according to the university plan.

For students directly impacted by the natural disasters, the university is offering additional financial aid to offset costs incurred and ensure financial stability.

While South Florida avoided devastation, the storm annihilated Caribbean nations such as Barbuda, where 90 percent of the island was destroyed, according to Prime Minister Gaston Browne. In Irma’s wake, two more dangerous storms, hurricanes Jose and Maria, struck some of the same areas. Puerto Ricans were left without a way to let family know they were safe. Mexico was rocked by two powerful earthquakes in two weeks.

The University of Miami was saved from severe damage, but the community did not escape the storm unscathed, emerging worried and saddened for family members, friends and victims in severely damaged nations.

In the Miami community, about 150 students volunteered their time Sept. 22 to help clean up and rebuild after Irma. Eight buses full of Canes arrived at sites throughout Miami-Dade to clean up debris and organize donations.

Several University of Miami students and departments began fundraising in response to the back-to-back catastrophes in recent weeks.

Donations of nonperishable foods, baby products, toiletries, household supplies and new undergarments can be dropped off at donation locations in Richter Library, the Wellness Center, Gables One Tower, the Lennar Foundation Medical Center, the Shalala Student Center or any of the residential colleges.

IRMA BY THE NUMBERS

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administrators spent days straight inside the EOC without leaving within days, all debris was hauled off school has been out for days immediately after the storm, of the campus was “impassable” students, 1.5% of the population, stayed in shelters

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50%

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61 75% of the roadways and pathways had at least some level of debris or obstructions to them 100% of the major debris cleanup process is done Matt Shpiner has logged 220 hours since Labor Day the total amount of debris could fill pickup trucks, at tons, or 5,100

2000

10,200 yd3

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NEWS

THE MIAMI HURRICANE

September 26 - October 2, 2017

tuesday, 9/5

TIMELINE:

Hurricane Irma

Classes canceled for the rest of the week.

UM administration encourages students to leave South Florida.

CAMPUS LIFE

thursday, 9/7

UM announces campus will remain closed Monday, Sept. 11 and the remaining on-campus residents will be evacuated to an off-campus shelter on Friday afternoon.

A magnitude 8.1 earthquake rocks Mexico’s west coast.

friday, 9/8

saturday, 9/9

sunday, 9/10

Students evacuated to University administrators move into University announces classes will university designated shelter Emergency Operations Center on Coral resume Monday, Sept. 18 at the for the first time in Gables campus. earliest.

UM’s history.University Plans made for damage assessments to Revisions to the fall academic announces campuses will begin Monday morning. calendar underway. remain closed Tuesday, A 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew is issued for Coral Gables campus loses Sept. 12 parts of Coral Gables. power (12:45 p.m.)

Students, professors return to classes and adjust after 20-day hiatus

By Amanda Herrera News Editor

Hurricane Irma. It was a storm expected to be the worst South Florida has seen since Hurricane Andrew. It obligated the University of Miami to shut down all operations on its multiple campuses for days and kept students away from classes for 20 days. Now, all students, faculty and staff are back from a nearly three-week hiatus with mixed emotions.

President Julio Frenk said he was looking forward to welcoming students back onto campus after the extended break and tough decisions.

“I am very, very relieved that we can resume classes,” Frenk said. “I’m really excited that this very carefully planned process reaches its culminating point when everyone is back, so I am looking forward to having the full bustle and liveliness of our campus back.”

The university announced the decision to resume all classes Sept. 25 along with a slew of other academic calendar changes.

Administrators opted to cancel the fall break originally scheduled for Oct. 1215 and extend classes until Dec. 20. The university chose to hold final exams during class rather than in a traditional final exam period.

Junior Sagar Sharma, a broadcast journalism major, said he is excited to be back on campus after being away for so long. Sharma evacuated to Chicago, his hometown, shortly after classes were canceled. He said he is concerned the extended period away from the books, along with the extension of classes and cancelation of fall break, will come at a price.

“Now, I feel like professors are going to try and cram material, and if every class does that and a student is taking a full course load, it becomes very difficult

for them to catch up and keep up,” Sharma said.

One of the first schools to reopen after the hurricane was the UM School of Law, which resumed Sept. 20. Leah Stevenson, currently in her second year of law school, is originally from Houston, Texas, and she evacuated to her hometown after receiving nearly 50 phone calls from her relatives and friends who experienced Hurricane Harvey’s devastation.

Stevenson said, throughout the break, she worked on projects assigned before classes were canceled that were still due when classes resumed. She said even though law school students were some of the first to return to campus, it has been hard to get back into a studious mindset.

“It’s hard to get back into the groove of school and get acclimated to that when there’s so many important things that you could be doing to help your city,” Stevenson said. “It’s hard to go back to school and act like nothing is really happening.”

In an interview with The Miami Hurricane Sept. 14, Provost Jeffrey Duerk alluded to some “tweaks” that could still be made to the academic calendar, including the addition of a class day Dec. 16, a Saturday. However, in a letter emailed out to faculty Sept. 18, Duerk confirmed, “Based on the input of the Faculty Senate and the Deans of remaining Schools/Colleges, and with support of the President,” no extra class days will be added. The email also said it was up to faculty to determine how to use the additional class days.

Many professors, including physics professor Joshua Gunderson, have had to rework scheduled due dates and exam dates because of the extended break.

Gunderson teaches physics 101 and said he made accommodations by replacing the final at the end of the semester with three midterm exams. He said he hasn’t heard many complaints from other professors.

“The only thing we’re really giving up is the cumulative final exam, so I think the students will appreciate that,” Gunderson said. “I think most people have been able to come up with relatively straightforward workarounds.”

Monday marked junior Kerstin Yu’s second day back to Miami after nearly a month away. Yu, who had a quiz in her biochemistry class on the first day back, left Miami even before Hurricane Irma’s anticipated trajectory caused UM to cancel classes. She was visiting friends in New York and Pennsylvania over Labor Day weekend and was scheduled to come back, but decided to stay in place because of Irma’s expected trajectory.

Throughout the duration of the unexpected break, Yu, a biology major, spent her time teaching herself material from her physics class. Although her physics professor said she would postpone assignments and restructure the class syllabus, Yu said she still has to worry about being prepared for post-graduate life.

“I’ve been teaching myself over the break because it’s my last semester before I take the MCAT, which is true for a lot of people in my class, so we still need to learn all the information even if our professor decides to take it out of the syllabus,” Yu said. “Basically, all my classes are on hold but our lives aren’t, so we still have to teach ourselves.”

Duerk’s letter encouraged faculty to exemplify values of “creativity, compassion, responsibility and excellence” upon the resumption of classes.

“This semester we will have to balance flexibility with the ways we normally pursue rigor and high quality education,” the letter read.

Leslie Knecht, a chemistry professor who teaches three different classes this semester, said she tried to restructure her syllabi to accommodate students’ needs.

She said she decided to keep the same exam dates as before the storm, so students would have had the date in their minds all along. But she said she knows one of the main challenges will be returning to a classroom.

“I’m a little worried of how it’s going to be to get students back and involved,” Knecht said. “I have to find creative ways to refresh.”

For Stevenson, seeing everyone back on campus helped her view the resumption of classes as a step toward normalcy.

“It’s much more normal now that everyone is back in school and that the school is trying their best to try to make everyone feel accommodated,” Stevenson said. “But it still is hard to be back and know that we’re in hurricane season and that we could be uprooted again.”

Kayla Haley contributed to reporting.

Day of Service sends Canes into the community to aid relief Hurricane Irma relief day of service, held on Sept. 22, brought together about 150 student volunteers to help with recovery and cleanup throughout Miami-Dade County.

Students were disbursed to nine locations across the region, such as Homestead Farm Share, Pinecrest Gardens and the university’s own Gifford Arboretum.

Scan with Snapchat to see video of UM’s Day of Service

September 26 - October 2, 2017

monday, 9/11

Administrators begin safety assessments of all campuses and find “major safety hazards.”

INTERNATIONAL

tuesday, 9/12

Mahoney/Pearson, Pavia and Merrick parking garages reopen.

Students at shelter return to campus, to be relocated to a hotel by evening.

Gables and RSMAS faculty and staff expected to report to work Monday, Sept. 18.

Campus assessments completed, recovery efforts begin.

wednesday, 9/13

thursday, 9/14

Residential colleges and other major buildings still without power.

Calendar revision announcement made, classes to resume Monday, Sept. 25 Fall break and Parents Weekend canceled, semester extended to Dec. 20.

Power restored to nearly all of Coral Gables campus.

THE MIAMI HURRICANE

NEWS

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friday, 9/15 thursday, 9/21 friday, 9/22

Campus cleanup of debris that could “fill 800 pickup trucks” underway.

Residential halls re-open, students return to campus.

University sends about 150 student volunteers to 9 sites for day of service.

Back-to-back hurricanes ravage Caribbean homelands

By Amanda Herrera News Editor

University of Miami students with ties to the Caribbean held their breath as Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria ravaged the region.

Senior Paula Landrón was in her home of Puerto Rico over Labor Day weekend, right before Hurricane Irma hit its western coast. Landrón said, in the days leading up to Irma, everyone was calm, but she advised her family and friends to prepare, even if they didn’t think the storm would hit them directly.

The worst of the storm narrowly missed the island and Landrón, who is from San Juan, said Puerto Ricans donated all the food and supplies they had collected in preparation to victims in other Caribbean islands like Barbuda, which suffered complete devastation.

Puerto Ricans didn’t anticipate that they would need the supplies they gave away only a week later, when Hurricane Maria turned into a Category 5 storm within hours. Landrón said that’s when Puerto Ricans started “panicking.”

Hurricane Maria pounded the island Sept.

20 with wind speeds of 155 mph. More than 95 percent of the island lost power. Landrón said her friend called living conditions after the storm “apocalyptic.”

“First, the atmosphere is super sad,” Landrón said. “Second, no one can believe it. No one can believe this has happened. This has not happened since 1923, a hurricane of this magnitude that has passed through the island.”

Landrón said those left on the island are struggling to escape the devastation, including UM students senior Christian Lausell and sophomore Natalia Cañellas, who have been unable to return to Miami after fleeing to the island in preparation

for Hurricane Irma.

There are more than 120 students from Puerto Rico and the Caribbean islands in UM’s student body, according to the University of Miami’s 2016 Fact Book.

Before the hurricanes hit Puerto Rico, they plowed through the small island of Dominica.

Maria left more than a dozen dead and the majority of the island’s infrastructure completely destroyed after making landfall Sept. 18.

Dominican sophomore Franciesca Astaphan said her family was unprepared for the storm.

“It was a scary experience for my family.

Imagine being in your house and start seeing the upstairs floor of your house starts to get flooded,” said Astaphan, a sports administration major.

“That’s when they realized that half way through the hurricane, a piece of their roof flew off.”

With a Category 5 storm came a shortage of water, food and electricity. Astaphan said, like

Puerto Rico, only certain areas of the island were left with cell service.

Since Dominica is a lesser-known island, Astaphan said she wants to bring attention to the damages and encourage students to donate to a GoFundMe she created. As of Sept. 25, more than $300 had been donated. The funds will be used to buy supplies to send to the island.

Students from colleges and universities across the nation have come together to create a GoFundMe page with a fundraising goal of $100,000. So far, nearly $70,000 has been collected.

Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon donated $20,000, one of the largest contributions.

Landrón said seeing Puerto Ricans living in the United States come together to help their country is “beautiful.”

“We’re not just going to sit down and do nothing,” Landrón said. “We’re going to make it happen.”

COMMUNITY

Finances, family obligations discourage commuters from evacuating

By Nathalie Mairena Assistant News Editor

During the worst of Hurricane Irma, junior Jorge Banegas saw the canals near his house full to the brim and he was reminded of the massive flooding he had seen in pictures from Texas after Hurricane Harvey. But with a storm on track to hit Miami, the threat felt much closer to home.

“We were raised here, and commuter students live here, so it hit on more of a personal level,” said Banegas, a computer science major. “Seeing the places you grew up with and you live in day in and day out...”

Many local students can recall Hurricane Wilma and Hurricane Katrina in 2005, though not in detail. Banegas helped his parents prepare for a storm for the first time as an adult, stocking up on

gasoline and supplies over Labor Day weekend.

As the storm entered South Florida, he spent a sleepless night listening to the wind whistle against the windows and comforting his 8-year-old sister.

Thalia Garcia, a senior studying software engineering, said she wasn’t worried about the storm until her friends started evacuating in droves, facing clogged highways to escape the storm. Her anxieties increased even more once her parents, seasoned Floridians, started showing more concern.

“My dad put lots of wood across our front door,” Garcia said. “He hammered it in there, and that’s something we’ve never done before.”

Her family’s impact-resistant windows offered a view to the outside world as the storm tore through her neighborhood, ripping trees from their roots. Her family feared that the roof wouldn’t hold.

“The scariest would be when something loud would happen because then it’s not just a visual thing, you could hear the storm affecting your house,” Garcia said.

And after the storm, the family went without electricity or running water for nine days.

Rebekah Chung, a junior studying broadcast journalism and political science, stayed with her fiancé, UM student Virgilio Capote, and his parents at their home on Coral Way during the storm.

Following the cancelation of classes, Chung saw students leaving in droves, making her question if she should book a flight. It’s not that easy for commuter students, Chung said, as many don’t have the money or resources to leave “at the drop of a hat.” Others worried about leaving family and friends behind.

“You are kind of stuck in this situation; it’s sink or swim,” Chung said. “You don’t have

enough money to just drop everything and travel.”

Her parents evacuated to Orlando because they feared what would happen in the flood-prone area of Homestead in which they live. On Coral Way, the fear was not the water but the wind.

Chung saw the effects of that force, even though the storm was on the other side of the peninsula. “...During the storm, several trees in the backyard started falling and threatening to fall on the house itself,” she said. “It was so close. If the wind had hit it in a different direction, it would’ve toppled over the house.”

Chung said she hopes to get back to normal following the storm, and she has been heartened by how people have come together to support one another throughout the whole process. She experienced it firsthand: Capote proposed to her the week after the storm.

To read the rest of The Hurricane’s storm coverage, including an interview with Director of Emergency Management Matt Shpiner, visit themiamihurricane.com.

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NEWS

THE MIAMI HURRICANE

September 26 - October 2, 2017

INTERNATIONAL

They fled Hurricane Irma. Then they experienced another natural disaster.

By Amanda Herrera News Editor

Thousands of University of Miami students evacuated South Florida to escape Hurricane Irma, but two of those students had a close encounter with another natural disaste: earthquakes.

Junior Alec Litofsky experienced two major earthquakes in Mexico City after evacuating Miami.

Mexico’s largest earthquake in over a century, with a magnitude of 8.1, shook the country Sept. 7. A magnitude 7.1 earthquake followed Sept. 19.

Litofsky said he felt the second earthquake the most. He was in an office building and his surroundings began to shake and pieces of the roof began crumbling down, he said.

“I really felt this one,” said Litofsky, a double major in political science and international relations.

Litofsky, a San Antonio native, boarded a plane from Miami to Mexico City Sept. 6 to evacuate in preparation for the hurricane. The following day, the first earthquake hit.

The magnitude of the Sept. 7 earthquake stretched as far from Mexico City as Guatemala City and left an estimated 90 people dead.

For junior Isabel Pérez Ríos Bravo, born and raised in Mexico, earthquakes are part of every

LITOFSKY

BRAVO

day life.

“Since I was very little, it’s part of schooling and growing up – knowing earthquakes are very common,” said Bravo, an environmental engineering major. “They always teach you what you must do.”

Bravo said, in Mexico, earthquakes are so common, that when the initial shaking occurs, most people have to ask others around them whether they feel the movement, too.

Bravo narrowly escaped the first earthquake because she arrived the day after. However, she was at home with her brother on Sept. 19 when she felt her room start to shake. She and her brother ran outside to safety. She said the importance of being aware of your location during an earthquake is “an actual instinct” when you grow up in quake-prone zones.

Even though Bravo has experienced “plenty” of natural disasters, the experience still frightened her.

“The newspapers said it lasted 34 seconds, but it felt like forever,” she said.

Sept. 19 marked 32 years to the day that a 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked Mexico City in 1985.

The earthquake left nearly 5,000 dead and extensively damaged infrastructure, costing the city millions.

UM President Julio Frenk, who was born in Mexico, said the anniversary of the 1985 earthquake is one that all Mexicans remember. On the day of the anniversary, he said he woke up “remembering it was one more anniversary since that earthquake,” only to receive a notification from his wife, Felicia Knaul, that an earthquake had struck Mexico City that day.

Frenk’s family in Mexico City felt the severity of the shake but were unharmed.

He said the numerous natural disasters within a short time span are a sign. He said, though there is “strong scientific evidence” that global warming doesn’t cause hurricanes, it accounts for creating more extreme weather disasters.

“Our planet is telling us that we’ve done a lot of harm to it through human generated activity,” Frenk said.

For Bravo, natural disasters and their aftermaths are part of life.

“This is going to be my life,” Bravo said.

“Natural disasters all the time. At one point, I was like, ‘Why? This is just really bad luck.’ I’m more relieved now and I’m happy to be back. I never thought I’d say this, but I really want to go to class.”

HOW TO HELP PUERTO RICO Students will be collecting donations of the following items for relief in the breezeway on Wednesday, Sept. 27 from 11 am to 3 p.m.: Water, canned food, hygiene and cleaning products, baby diapers, batteries and flashlights.

A GoFundMe page, “Students with Puetro Rico” iwas made by college students across the U.S., including at UM, to aid those affected by hurricanes Irma and Maria. gofundme.com/studentswithpr MEXICO UM students have set up a GoFundMe page to aid those in Mexico affected by the multiple earthquakes that have shaken the country in the past few weeks. gofundme.com/university-of-miami-formexico IBIS STRONG T-SHIRTS “Ibis Strong” shirts, an idea created by UM senior Briana Klein, are being sold until Oct. 2 for $15 each to aid victims of Hurricane Irma. All proceeds will be donated. my.cheddarup.com/c/ibis-strong-tshirts-

September 26 - October 2, 2017

THE MIAMI HURRICANE

OPINION

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Opinion EDITORIAL

Academic calendar adjustments are a merciful approach to a disruptive hurricane Two weeks have passed since the fiercest storm in recent memory scraped through South Florida, leaving debris littered throughout the region and many Floridians displaced from their homes.

The University of Miami issued the first mandatory evacuation in its history, reacting to grim forecasts for the East Coast. Classes were canceled for almost three weeks, and a revised academic calendar elicited mixed reactions among students, faculty and staff. However, those mixed reactions paled in comparison to the general relief among the UM community at how safely and effectively the university handled the emergency.

Last year, Hurricane Matthew threatened to hit South Florida. The university responded by canceling two and half days of class, but many students found the time insufficient to evacuate or prepare their homes for the storm. Director of Emergency Management Matt Shpiner said in an interview with The Miami Hurricane that he and his staff learned from that experience and

decided to make the first call on cancelations far ahead of time to prepare for Hurricane Irma.

Throughout the storm, Shpiner and other emergency management personnel were proactive in sending out notifications to the UM community, often sending multiple in a day. The team was also prepared to offer safe, off-campus accommodations for students who did not have any other options for evacuation.

To clean up debris and give evacuated students sufficient time to return to campus, the cancelations were so lengthy that the academic calendar had to be adjusted. Although the changes aren’t optimal, they avoid the issue of cramming an extensive amount of missed material into a short period of time, which greatly helps students in the long run. It’s a reasonable approach to keep students on track in their studies, which, at the end of the day, is the university’s primary goal and purpose.

Other schools have taken far more extreme approaches in the past. Tulane University closed

for an entire semester following Hurricane Katrina. Enrollment dropped as students transferred and the university’s budgets were slashed. It is too soon to tell if the reminder that hurricanes are a reality in South Florida will have an impact on admissions at UM, but both prospective and current students can take solace in what has proven to be an effective safety procedure.

So while the academic calendar changes may be irritating or add pressure on some students in the coming weeks – there is no significant loss of time to cover the full materials of a course and no long-term detriment to academic progress.

We’ll all scramble this week to rewrite important dates in our planners, reschedule club events and make up lost hours of work. But once the chaos dies down, we’ll be back on track, the same U we know and love.

Editorials represent the majority view of The Miami Hurricane editorial board.

Running from hurricanes in the age of incuriousness Since ancient times, man has forged explanations for the inexplicable. The ancient Mongolians claimed Earth rested on the back of a giant frog whose movements caused

By Mackenzie Karbon earthquakes. The Igorot Senior Columnist people of the Philippines believed the eldest son of Lumawig, the Great Spirit, formed mountains when he sent water flooding over all of Earth, forcing the ground to rise.

People create stories to make sense of their surroundings. As time and technology progressed, the scientific method replaced mythology, and the scope of discovery globalized. Curiosity drives people to understand the environment, encouraging us to learn, make calculated decisions and ultimately survive.

Yet curiosity lacks in recent times. Scientific

evidence is met with disdain and disbelief by the public and elected leaders. Despite clear scientific evidence for the global warming, our own president has called the phenomenon “nonexistent.”

The hot-button topic of climate change was exacerbated after two major hurricanes left parts of Texas and Florida dilapidated and waterlogged.

Scientists agree that no single weather event can be attributed to climate change, but warmer waters provide storms with perfect conditions to grow and become more dangerous.

Despite current partisan divisions, science has not always been a partisan issue. Since 2008, when Republican Sen. John McCain ran for president with a strong climate platform, top Republican lawmakers have gone from publicly endorsing climate science to growing silent on the topic, kept quiet by big money.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott strongly and repeatedly warned Florida residents of the wrath of Hurricane Irma, calling it “a catastrophic storm that our state has never seen before.” But climate scientists have

been predicting storms like Irma for years, yet Gov. Scott continues to say he is “not convinced” that global warming is a reality.

Irma was the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Basin. Hurricane Maria, which devastated Dominica and Puerto Rico, strengthened from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in fewer than two days.

If these were ancient times, people would wonder what they did to anger the deities. But we live in the information age, not the era of blind conjecture. Asking “Why?” is more important than ever.

People must take collective action to limit our impact on the planet, refocus attention on data and facts and stifle the plague of incuriousness that — unlike all plagues that have so far beset us — may be our undoing.

Mackenzie Karbon is a junior majoring in jazz performance.

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OPINION

THE MIAMI HURRICANE

September 26 - October 2, 2017

DESIGN BY ISABELLA CUETO

Disconnection offers a chance for deeper connection during a storm As a hurricane approaches, essential goods and commodities vanish.

First, water disappears off stocked shelves. Then, it’s

By Kevin Bustamante the gasoline; red plastic coverings Senior Columnist hang on gas pumps.

And, of course, when the hurricane finally hits, electrical grids are damaged, which can strip

residents of power and cell service or even make a transformer explode, turning the whole sky into an eerie laser light show.

It’s a strange thing when the power is out. The luxury of air conditioning lacks, and reaching into the refrigerator for a snack is discouraged because the food will spoil faster.

On top of everything, we must replace the hours normally spent on social media and television with something else.

If your situation was anything like mine, you hunkered down at home and spent the hurricane with family, swapping Internet for conversation.

Chats spanned a whole gamut of topics, from my mother’s childhood growing up in Nicaragua without electricity to methods to increase air circulation through the house without risking mosquito bites.

Hurricane Irma took lives and, at the very least, inconvenienced many.

But the days plagued by bad cell reception and no power allowed those who were lucky to spend time with family and friends.

There is a certain tranquility in disconnecting from the outside world.

The world of politics and potential war with North Korea vanished. The storm

forced us to spend time together without distraction or interference.

There is a certain beauty in having enough time to play Monopoly with younger siblings.

There is even greater beauty in conversing without either party checking Twitter or Instagram.

What mattered lay right in front of us – our home and each other.

Kevin Bustamante is a senior majoring in political science and creative writing.

September 26 - October 2, 2017

THE MIAMI HURRICANE

Focus on resiliency, community strength after Irma Working on posthurricane coverage in the newsroom last week, I heard a staffer yell, “We should be out of rain by now,” as Miami’s daily rainy-season storm beat down on the windows.

By Annie Cappetta This idea that we Managing Editor deserve a moment of relief after a disaster is fundamentally human but unfortunately not how the world works. We were reminded of this as storms José, Maria and Lee trailed behind Irma. We were reminded of this when two UM students evacuated to Mexico during Irma, only to experience two major earthquakes where they thought they would be safe.

The respite doesn’t always come. There could be more rain, more hurricanes, more natural disasters. Climate science predicts the frequency and severity of natural disasters will

increase as the climate changes.

I’ve painted a pretty dark picture here, but it’s not meant to be disheartening. It’s beyond our power to prevent another storm. It’s beyond our power to precisely predict disaster. It’s beyond our power to prevent climate change altogether. But it is in our power to adapt.

There are considerations small and large that can make everyone more resilient.

Replenish your hurricane kit. Many witnessed people acting like animals in gas lines, supermarkets and hardware stores. Some acted like animals themselves to protect homes and loved ones. Those items you were scrambling for in the days before the storm can be kept on-hand all year.

Assess the trees left standing in your yard.

Are they wind resistant, or do they have a tendency to come up by the roots or snap? Are they planted in spaces that are sheltered from the wind?

Reflect on the psychological stress of this storm. Between constant yet uncertain updates

and a myriad of factors to weigh, decision fatigue and anxiety xiety affected many people. If you didn’t evacuate, uate, what held you back? Plans can be made with th family and friends well before another hurricane ane with clear decision-making guidelines for what to do, when to do it and where to go when en the time comes.

And while we can’t stop climate change, every effort to reduce educe greenhouse gas emissions – eating less meat, carpooling, reusing bags li i b and containers – can slow or lessen the scale of devastating effects of climate change.

Miamians will find innovative strategies and technologies to preserve our beautiful home in the face of these challenges, though it may be expensive and hit lower-income folks harder without strong community efforts. But, if anything, we’re reminded that we have a fighting spirit and ability to come together in trying times.

Annie Cappetta is a senior majoring in political science and ecosystem science and policy.

OPINION

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EDGE

THE MIAMI HURRICANE

September 26 - October 2, 2017

Hunter Crenian Crenian// // Visuals Editor MOORED AT MONTY’S: MONTY’S: Three boats washed ashore in Coconut Grove outside Monty’s after Hurricane Irma hit South Florida with hurricane force winds. Monty’s, a popular hangout for UM students, is in an evacuation zone because of its proximity to the bay.

Student hotspots survive Hurricane Irma

By Esther Ponce de Leon Senior Edge Writer

When the University of Miami canceled classes Sept. 6, UM students and faculty were advised to evacuate. Over two and a half weeks later, people are trickling back onto campus and heading to their go-to restaurants and bars.

Restaurant owners faced varying damage to their properties. However, many of UM’s favorite spots are now open and excitedly awaiting the students’ return.

In Wynwood, SHOTS and the Salty Donut both closed their doors the same day UM canceled classes.

SHOTS reopened one week later.

Fortunately, most of its damage was minimal.

“Our curtains and the rods that held them were banging into our artwork and chipping away at the wall,” said Shayla Garcia, director of marketing for the franchise. “Our main fence and our entry

were completely blown down. Otherwise, we didn’t sustain much damage. We had our staff preparing for 24 hours.”

While the Salty Donut prepared the building for Irma, it also tried to prepare food storage. The majority of its menu requires fresh fruits, eggs, butter, cream and milk, which cannot be stored if the power goes out.

“We tried to run out as much as we could pre-hurricane – threw away whatever we couldn’t go through – and then had to restock and reorder everything when we reopened as it became available from our suppliers,” said Andy Rodriguez, co-founder of the Salty Donut.

Returning after the hurricane can be just as difficult as evacuating. While students may have noticed shelves at Publix lacking common supplies, restaurant owners encountered a lack of resources from their suppliers.

Even when the Salty Donut finally opened its doors, it ran on a limited menu due to limited resources.

In Coconut Grove, student favorite

Monty’s struggled to get food back into the restaurant.

“We got power back on Thursday but we found out at 10 a.m. … So we didn’t have any food in the restaurant until Friday,” said Juan Barretta, assistant general manager of Monty’s. “That’s why we had to bring an army of people to prep the food and still run with a limited menu on that Friday.”

Barretta said he believes they lost “thousands of dollars worth of food.”

After the storm, some news outlets reported that the marina near Monty’s was destroyed. Many people assumed the restaurant was destroyed, too. Despite the confusion, Monty’s is fully functional.

“We had people call our catering manager and say, ‘Oh, so you guys are destroyed?’” Barretta said. “No, not at all.”

Although Brickell flooded during the hurricane, Batch Gastropub had power and ran as usual the next day, Monday, Sept. 11, much to the community’s delight.

“We didn’t really skip a beat,” said

Steven Schwartz, manager at Batch Gastropub. “We were really busy that Monday because we were the only thing open, and then Tuesday we were busy again because roads were still being cleared and power was getting restored.

We made out pretty well. We just wish everyone else the best as far as their businesses and their homes.”

Because of restaurant closures, Miami Spice – an event at which restaurants serve meals at reduced prices – has been extended through Oct. 31.

Monty’s is part of Miami Spice for the first time this year.

Garcia said she is optimistic about the promotion extension.

“What helps our area, helps us,” said Garcia.

All the restaurants missed Miami students. As Barretta put it, “Fridays are UM days.”

Much like palm trees, these restaurants can withstand a bit of extreme weather. The restaurants are offering full menus today.

September 26 - October 2, 2017

THE MIAMI HURRICANE

EDGE

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Arts departments shuffle around dates, resources post-Irma

By Shellie Frai Edge Editor

For two and a half weeks the University of Miami has been on a hiatus. Every class, extracurricular activity and event scheduled during that time was canceled. This forced every department to rethink its agenda to accommodate the break and new academic calendar.

For UM’s theater department, the 20 days off school meant students could not rehearse lines or choreography for the upcoming play, ‘Pippin.’ Many worried, as opening night was originally scheduled for Sept. 28, only three days after classes would resume.

The Frost School dance director and choreographer for ‘Pippin,’ Christine Kellogg, said she could not make her students rehearse until school was back in session, resulting in a complete halt in production.

“Having two weeks away from rehearsal was definitely worrisome,” said Branden Holzer, a theater major playing the titular character in Pippin. “Initially, it was hard to wrap our heads around.”

Not only were the rehearsals postponed, but the set production and costume-making were halted, which resulted in a major loss of time.

“We will have to reduce some of our planned setting and costumes we will present,” Chair of the Theatre Department Stephen Di Benedetto said.

The theater department was able to adjust the Ring Theatre schedule by moving Pippin’s opening night to Oct. 5, a week later than originally scheduled, and squeezing two productions into one month.

The same scheduling problems happened for the Frost School of Music’s performance and concert calendar.

Many events, from its famous “Frost Music Live! Signature Series,” to the musicology lecture series and several concerts were canceled or postponed.

A committee met before Sept. 25 to determine if the school should replay the concerts that were supposed to take place during the hurricane or cancel them entirely.

The calendar was complicated further by special guests who were involved in specific events.

“There was one guest conductor, our outstanding alumnus, Cristian Macelaru, who was going to conduct the orchestra on Sept. 14,” Dean of the Frost School of Music Shelton Berg said. “We had to cancel the concert and now with his busy schedule, we are unsure if we can bring him back.”

However, many concerts were able to be rescheduled, and a new calendar with a

list of events is available on the Frost events website. Associate professor Gabriel Beavers resumed the concert series on Monday, Sept.

25, with a bassoon recital of music from 1900-1926. The university was founded in 1926, when it was also hit by the Great Miami Hurricane.

Problems also arose at the Lowe Art Museum when rescheduling events with special guests.

Because the museum closed from Sept.

6 to Sept. 26, Walter Wick, the artist featured

in the Lowe’s latest exhibit, “Walter Wick: Games, Gizmos, and Toys in the Attic,” was not able to visit the museum for his “Community Day” on Sept. 8. The museum remains unsure if he will be able to come a different day.

While it’s hard to make up for lost time, many departments successfully rearranged schedules and found solutions for canceled events and programs. For more information, see the updated arts and culture calendar at http://bit.ly/2y4WlKN.

THE SHOW MUST GO ON: ON: Gema Valdes, a supervisor in the Jerry Herman Ring Theatre costume shop, works to sew costumes for the upcoming production of “Pippin.” The technical crews of the Department of Theatre Arts have had to quickly respond to schedule changes resulting from Hurricane Irma.

Isabella Cueto // Editor-in-Chief

Sebastian stands strong on storm shutters

By Alexandra Rothman Staff Edge Writer

STORMPROOF SEBASTIAN SEBASTIAN:: Miami street artist Beau Bradbury finishes a mural of Sebastian the Ibis. Prior to Hurricane Irma, a photo of one of Bradbury’s murals went viral on social media.

Matt Bernanke // Staff Photographer

“We will not be afraid.”

This is the message that artist Beau Bradbury sent to Miami when his mural, ‘You Don’t Scare Us Irma,’ went viral before the storm hit.

Painted on the side of the Geneva Hotel on 15th and Collins in Miami Beach, the hourlong street art project became a popular and powerful message of strength for the South Florida community.

The mural features UM’s mascot, Sebastian the Ibis, in his UM gear, ready to fight. Next to Sebastian is the phrase “You don’t scare us Irma” in big bold letters.

“During Hurricane Irma, the press instilled fear and panic among the people of Florida,” Bradbury, 33, said. “I wanted to show that we are strong and unafraid of whatever storm tries to destroy us. The city was a ghost town. I wanted to take advantage of the situation. I had no idea that it would go viral.”

Bradbury was out walking Thursday night

before the storm hit, when he came across a large, empty, plywood-covered space on the side of the Geneva hotel.

“I chose a location, grabbed paint and hit it out,” Bradbury said. “It didn’t take me more than an hour. The manager came out of the hotel and started to complain, but then realized the significance of the piece and started to take pictures ... Now the owners of the Geneva hotel want to keep the mural.”

Bradbury isn’t a graduate of UM, but he chose the Ibis as the focus of the mural because of its boldness in the face of a hurricane.

“Legend has it that the ibis is the last one to leave during the storm and the first to return,” he said.

Bradbury, an established street artist, moved to Florida from New York a few years ago, and he’s familiar with the challenges of street art. In 2015, Bradbury painted the phrase “go Mets” on an entire block in New York City. He said the cops warned him to be careful but they ended up taking pictures of the art and posting it to Instagram.

His street art has gained traction and even

been shown in books and documentaries, but Bradbury said he still feels like somewhat of an outsider.

“It’s really hard to make a living as an artist,” Bradbury said. “I’ve been doing this for 15 years, and I feel like I’ve been blacklisted by the ‘high end’ art community, but that doesn’t matter. I want to be known for my work.”

Bradbury said he believes there are different varieties of artists; each has a place, is unique and is equally important.

“Society needs artists,” said Bradbury. “Pursue whatever your heart desires. I have worked with the biggest people but I’m still little old Beau in my opinion.”

Bradbury’s Ibis art often pops up on his website and Instagram. He hopes to do an Ibisthemed art show at the University of Miami and teach a street painting class.

“The power of art and the power of graffiti is stronger than we think,” Bradbury said.

For more of Beau Bradbury’s art, follow his Instagram, @Beau_____ or check out his website, beaubradley.com.

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THE MIAMI HURRICANE

September 26 - October 2, 2017

Satirical Facebook “events” help ease tensions during Hurricane Irma

By Jason Donnelly Contributing Edge Writer

With the news of an impending hurricane coming straight to South Florida from Sept. 9 to Sept. 14, news also arose that within those days, over 4,000 people would take to the streets of Coral Gables, lower their center of mass, fly their arms behind their torsos and channel their inner “shinobi.”

All in the hope to escape the

destruction of Hurricane Irma, just as the legendary Naruto might.

This will happen only if one were to trust UM sophomore Cassius Torres’ Facebook event, “Naruto run away from Irma.”

Torres never expected the event to reach over 15,000 “interested” people, and he was pleasantly surprised to see all those people “distract themselves from the impending doom.”

Seeing that he now had a large

Cassius Torres

‘Naruto run away from Irma’

Tram Nguyen

‘Asking Irma to send noodz so she’ll become uninterested’

Alexander LaBarbera

‘Force Hurricane Irma to use CaneLink so she won’t come to UM’ Vanessa Gonzalez-Gomez// Gonzalez-Gomez// Contributing Photographer

audience, Torres used the opportunity to remind the “attendees” to take precautions to stay safe during the storm.

“Hello everyone,” Torres said in a post on the event page. “As the storm approaches, I just hope everyone is taking precautions and staying safe. If anyone actually wants to do this after the hurricane I am 100% down.”

Torres’ event was far from the only satirical hurricane event to gain notoriety.

Once it was announced that Hurricane Irma was to hit South Florida, numerous satirical events have popped up on Facebook. Each one offering a unique solution to combating the effects of the storm, and in some cases, the storm itself.

Among the popular events is “Asking Irma to send noodz so she’ll become uninterested,” created by UM finance and economics student Tram Nguyen.

Her page attracted over 2,000 viewers.

Nguyen, who runs an Instagram meme page (@tram_posts_memes), was “very happy with the overwhelming response” she received from the community. Like Torres, she made the page to “distract [everyone] from all the scary news.”

Other UM students took the satirical concept even further and used the Hurricane Irma events to poke fun at aspects of the university.

“Force Hurricane Irma to use CaneLink so she won’t come to UM,” created by microbiology and immunology major Alexander LaBarbera, is just one example.

“CaneLink has become a meme of its own on campus,” said LaBarbera. “It was an easy target.” CaneLink, the university’s online student service, is often lauded by students for its “clunky and non-userfriendly interface,” LaBarbera said.

Other UM-related Facebook events included, “Make Irma wait for a Hurry ‘Cane shuttle until she gives up and storms away” and “Revoking Irma’s financial aid so she can’t afford to come to UM.” These events are becoming so popular because of the increasing cultural relevance of comedy as a coping mechanism, along with a dash of self-deprecating humor we normally see on social media sites like Twitter.

However, LaBarbera thinks it is much simpler, “Who doesn’t love a good-olfashioned-meme?”

September 26 - October 2, 2017

COMMENTARY

THE MIAMI HURRICANE

SPORTS

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Sports

Hurricanes football represents resilience and community in Miami PICTURE PERFECT: PERFECT: Redshirt junior receiver Dayall Harris (80) catches a touchdown pass in the back of the end zone. The Canes would go on to win 52-30 over Toledo on Sept. 23 at Hard Rock Stadium.

By Isaiah Kim-Martinez Sports Editor

The Hurricanes were exhausted.

Their offense struggled, their defense fell out of sync, status of star running back Mark Walton’s injured ankle teetered in limbo and the Canes trailed six points at behind the Toledo Rockets at halftime.

Those are some pretty tough odds to overcome, especially for a team recovering from a 10-day hiatus without an actual game in three weeks.

But difficult situations never discouraged the Canes, or the city of Miami as a whole.

As Hurricane Irma approached South Florida, the Miami community shifted into preparation mode – either evacuating north or preparing their homes for the storm.

Miami football did the same.

“Some kids did stay in South Florida,” Head Coach Mark Richt said. “Some went all over the place – whether it was home or maybe their family went to see other family up north somewhere. There was one that went to Puerto Rico, one or two went to California and Mississippi … They were all over the place.”

Thankfully, the storm turned west a couple days before it was projected to hit South Florida directly. However, the population still experienced gusts of over 150 mph – strong enough to knock

down trees and wipe out electricity, leaving millions in the state without power for days.

Miami’s football team lost much of its own power. Regardless of whether players chose to stay or leave, the team went 10 days without training – no practice, no conditioning drills and, for most players, no weight room. Finding food presented its own issue.

“When you’re going to try to get food at a restaurant … that was the biggest problem when the power went out,” Richt said. “Or even trying to navigate the trees on the road to try to get to somewhere. Some of the guys, quite frankly, didn’t have a whole lot to eat for a day or two.”

The Hurricanes didn’t get to participate in an actual practice until Sept. 16 in Orlando, Fla. – where the team chose to travel to have a better training situation and prepare for Toledo since the UM campus was closed.

In the first half of the game Sept. 23 at Hard Rock Stadium, the Canes were clearly feeling the effects of the break.

But in the second half, everything changed.

UM came roaring back.

Passes were on target, the defense played better coverage, Walton returned to the game after trainers taped up his injured ankle and the comeback energized the fans. Miami scored 28 unanswered points and triumphed 52-30 against Toledo.

“We’ve been through a lot,” Richt said. “It

has been an emotional rollercoaster for a lot of us.

There are so many things you have to be thinking through and planning and making decisions on and just figuring out a way. Our administration was awesome helping us do everything we felt we needed to do to keep our players safe and keep our staff safe, and then to try to regroup and start thinking about football again in Orlando.”

It hasn’t been easy for the rest of Miami either.

But in one game, the Hurricanes embodied the strength of the entire community – staying strong in the face of a challenge and having the resilience to get back up and fight.

“It was a great triumph for the whole university,” said sophomore linebacker Shaq Quarterman, one of the most vocal leaders on the team. “You have to think about the people that put the plays into motion. We had to have the higherups be okay with us skipping the Arkansas State game. The fact that they had that compassion for our families – not knowing or meeting our families, but they had the compassion to let that happen – we had to come back and do what we were supposed to do. Just being able to endure all of that as a family – because that’s what our team is, it’s a family – so being able to go through all of that and come out with a W, it’s monumental.”

That’s right, a family. The players, the coaching staff, the trainers – they treat each other like family, and they went through the ups and downs of the

Hunter Crenian // Visuals Editor

game, and Hurricane Irma, together.

Before classes resumed at the University of Miami, before the students and faculty got a chance to resume the normal routine, there was a football game to be played. Fans from all around, including UM students, came to show their support for a team that encompasses many of the same values as they do.

“For South Florida, you always see the community come together and people come out of their homes and help each other with cleanup,” Defensive Coordinator Manny Diaz said. “That’s what you want to see on Saturday. We want Saturday to be an opportunity where everybody in the community can get together and have a great tailgate and get in the stadium and create a great atmosphere and help our guys along. I’ll be honest with you, I think we are probably going to need it.

We’re probably going to need a great atmosphere to help our guys through and to get us going until we kind of get our sea legs back and get our season kind of kicked off.”

They needed a great atmosphere, and they got it – as well as the victory.

“We’re the Miami Hurricanes,” senior wide receiver Braxton Berrios said. “We wear that on our chests and we wear that U on the side of our helmets. It means a lot to have Miami behind us, and we want to be behind Miami as well.”

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THE MIAMI HURRICANE

September 26 - October 2, 2017

When they went: 10 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 7

Hurricanes football executes evacuation plan With Hurricane Irma fast approaching South Florida, members of the Miami Hurricanes football team and the UM athletic department chose to evacuate to Orlando, Florida, for safety reasons.

How they got there: Charter bus

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The team was unable to return to campus the following week because UM officials were assessing damages post-Irma. So, the Hurricanes chose to stay in Orlando to have a place to train and practice for the game against Toledo scheduled for Sept. 23. The players and staff that werenʼt already there traveled there to join the team.

Total number of players who travelled

Where they practiced: Disneyʼs ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex Length of trip:

10 8

Days of practice/ training lost

10 hours and 235 miles

Number of local players who travelled

ATHLETICS

Canes soccer, swim teams use Hurricane Irma as motivation

By Maxwell Trink Contributing Sports Writer

The University of Miami holds studentathletes and coaches to an extremely high standard in the world of college athletics.

The presence of Hurricane Irma only increased the difficulties faced by players and staff. From evacuating campus to readjusting to daily life in the classroom, UM athletes must be even more determined to succeed and represent the communities affected by the storm throughout Florida.

Miami women’s soccer team dealt with many Irma-related challenges. During the school’s closure, the team canceled two games – against Stetson University scheduled for Sept. 8 and the College of Charleston scheduled for Sept.

10.

As a safety precaution, the entire team evacuated campus for eight days. During that time, the most important task for the players was to continue training regardless of location.

“Most players had the ability to still train, which was great,” Coach Mary-Frances Monroe said. “There were some players who were affected that did stay in Miami. We just had two.”

When the rest of the players finally got back to Miami, they trained at a high school because campus was closed. Moving practice equipment from the UM campus presented an issue.

“Campus was closed, so all our soccer balls, all our equipment, all the player’s gear was in the locker room,” Monroe said. “In order to help with that, we had the ‘okay’ from administration

to get into the building, but only the coaching staff. You can imagine the coaching staff going into a locker room that’s 100 degrees and smells and trying to get everyone’s lockers open to get their equipment out.”

Before Miami’s loss to Virginia Sept. 21, the team lacked access to its own practice facilities.

“We ended up leaving Miami and we traveled to Virginia because we still couldn’t utilize our field, and there was no power,” Monroe said.

UM swimming dealt with similar issues.

“Most of the student-athletes had plans to go or made plans to go with their families or their teammates,” Head Swim Coach Andy Kershaw said.

However, the team did receive some good news about its facilities.

“The pool structurally seems to be in pretty good shape,” Kershaw said.

The swim team has not returned since the campus reopened because it is participating in a tournament in Gainesville, Fla. Even though problems arose from Hurricane Irma, both coaches spread one message – both teams will use this experience as motivation for the rest of the season.

“We are going to be the best lemonade makers out there,” Kershaw said. “Being back together and not having the additional stresses of the players’ full schedules has been nice and will be a benefit from a team bonding standpoint, but I do know they are all very eager to get back to class and fulfill their roles as student-athletes.”

“You could either be a victim or you can take control of the situation,” Monroe said.

“Let’s show who’s going to take control and be

resilient.”

Although Canes soccer suffered its first loss since the break to the Virginia Cavaliers, Monroe was still positive about the situation.

“I think out of everything we went through, to lose 1-0 to Virginia on the road and not playing 18-plus days together, I’m really proud of the team,” Monroe said.

Monroe felt that the athletic directors played a key part of keeping the team on schedule during and after Irma.

“I’m very appreciative of our Head Athletic Director Blake James and our Deputy Director

Jennifer Strawley,” Monroe said. “Strawley and I are on the phone at least 100 times a day trying to make sure we have the best plans for the women’s soccer team to be successful, and Jenn was amazing. I wouldn’t want a different person helping me out, and she gets it. She made us feel important.”

Hurricanes soccer will return home to host the Clemson Tigers 7 p.m. Sept. 29, and Hurricanes swimming will make the short trip to compete at noon Sept. 30 at Florida International University.

PICKING UP THE PACE: PACE: Senior captain Ronnie Johnson looks for the open teammate in a 2-0 victory over FIU on Aug. 20 at Cobb Stadium. Hurricanes soccer currently holds a 4-4 record.

Josh White // Staff Photographer

September 26 - October 2, 2017

THE MIAMI HURRICANE

Have a question for V? Email dearv@themiamihurricane.com.

TA

public so their friends can see it. I call this Operation Petty Penny Spotify: Same as Venmo … you probably didn’t get blocked.

Make a creative playlist to ask for forgiveness or end things for good.

You can even spell out a message with the song titles.

Carrier Pigeon: You can’t block physical correspondence. Isn’t old fashioned love romantic?

I’m not going to lie – I’ve ghosted people, but it’s probably just because most of the guys I talk to are having a perpetual 2007 Britney moment.

Just remember, ghosting is like karma: for every time you ghost someone, you’ll probably get ghosted back. At least that’s how I hope it works.

S

for his arrest, based on the lack of personal info he shared. But still, it sucks and makes you wonder what you did wrong.

Too much teeth? Not enough teeth? Did he not want my finger in there? Did he not want his finger in there? Did my whale-like sex noises remind him of that time his childhood cat was run over by a car? Did he hate that cat? Was he into it?

If you really want to find out, there are some pretty creative ways to get in contact with your long lost lover, especially if they’ve blocked you. Here are some of my favorites (just remember stalking and harassment is illegal so don’t take it too far): Venmo: They probably didn’t block you on Venmo, unless money was the anchor in your short-lived fling. A penny can get you a lot of attention, especially if you make it

V’

It has happened to the best of us – you’re talking to a delicious dude or foxy female and things are going well, or so you think. Then they just stop responding.

Nothing. Radio silence.

This one’s hitting V close to home right now – my bootylicious Bumble date blocked me on text and social media after we hung out Saturday.

My short (I’m not talking about time) but satisfying happy ending turned sad real quick.

It’s probably for the best (right? right?) because he was super shady and probably had warrants out

KE

V’S Guide to Ghosting

V’S TAKE

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THE MIAMI HURRICANE

September 26 - October 2, 2017