ICED | 2.4.2011 by The DePauw

2 | iced. Community members stocked up before storm By Rachel Cheeseman

jars. “I was just paranoid about not having water. It was all precautionAs the ice storm approached ary,” she said. Greencastle Monday night, people Senior Jeanette Renshaw headed scrambled to prepare for the unex- to Walmart with a friend to pick up pected. school supplies. The crowded parkThe office of Campus Living and ing lot proved that Greencastle Community Development met Mon- residents were also preparing for the day morning to prepare action plans worst. for dealing with power outages in “When we pulled into the Waldorms, greek houses and duplexes. mart parking lot, it was worse than Interim Assistant Director Alison holiday season,” she said. “I’ve never Reuschlein said the staff in the of- seen the parking lot so full.” fice filled a large Rubbermaid tote Renshaw said that the inside of of flashlights and batterythe store didn’t powered tea lights to feel too crowddistribute to residents if ed, but “it was “The lines for the cash definitely busy the power went out. Facilities also stocked exfor a Monday register were just tra linens in both North early evening.” and South Quads. insane. It was almost After leaving Professional staff the exceptionmembers took on re- like an amusement park ally crowded sponsibility for answer- where you have a line for parking lot, ing lockout calls so Renshaw then a line.” student staff members went to Kroger could remain in their for food and — Jeanette Renshaw, senior dorms. drinks. “I was so impressed “When we by the dozens of faculty and were out, thinking staff who volunteered to do what about it, I thought ‘There’s no way needed to be done and senior ad- I’m going to venture out to get food, ministrators who spent the night just so I should get food while I’m out,’” to make sure they were present,” Re- she said. uschlein said. “That was really aweWhile in Kroger, Renshaw said some.” she saw people filling multiple carts Assistant Director of Sustainabil- with food and gallons of water. Other ity Missy! Orr had to come up with shoppers quickly became frustrated an action plan of her own for her off- with other patrons in the crowded campus apartment. She had trouble lines. with her water pipes earlier this year “The lines for the cash register and was worried she might find her- were just insane,” she said. “It was alself in the storm without water. most like an amusement park where “I thought it would be most likely you have a line for a line.” that my pipes would freeze, so I filled Having weathered the storm, stuevery single empty glass and bottle dents, faculty, staff and community and Nalgene with water,” she said. In members can all take a sigh of relief. her apartment above Covered Bridge Orr can take a drink of water if she Cyclery at the corner of Indiana and likes — she certainly has plenty. Walnut streets, she used anything “I’m very thankful that I didn’t available to collect the water, includ- have to use what I prepared,” she ing empty wine bottles and Mason said.

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Dining Services carries on during storm with few slips in operation

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The Hub stocks up on food in preparation of the storm before closing. Meredith McGrady/The DePauw

By CHRISTINE DiGANGI news@thedepauw.com

Director of Dining Services Steve Santo spent most of Tuesday and Wednesday at work and on his phone, one of the few employees doing so at the shut-down university. But someone has to feed campus. “Our job, number one, is to take care of students and get food out,” Santo said Wednesday, the second day DePauw University remained closed following a debilitating ice storm. Though fewer workers could come to work Tuesday and Wednesday, The Den and the Hub functioned normally, save for the Food Lab, which reopened Thursday. The dining areas kept limited hours in order to allow employees to drive home earlier in the night. Santo said he didn’t want people out on the streets, especially while the county was under a Level 1 emergency, which limited driving to emergency vehicles only.

“I want to make sure people get here and are safe,” Santo said. In order to keep the Hub and The Den staffed, several managers stayed at the Inn at DePauw, and Santo paid close attention to which employees had longer commutes in order to minimize safety concerns for staffers traveling to work. Gina Trent, a supervisor in the Hub, didn’t make it to DePauw Tuesday, because she was nervous to drive the 11 miles south to campus in case the storm caused more problems at home. Wednesday, after taking a test drive around her neighborhood, she made a 40-minute drive to the Hub — double the time her commute normally takes. “The campus was horrible,” Trent said. “It was probably the worst part of my drive.” Santo said the storm reduced traffic in the dining halls and that there was never a severe shortage of products. Major grocery deliveries arrived on time during the university closure, with only Coca-Cola and Odwalla deliveries postponed to an-

other day. Although supplies weren’t a problem, Dining Services couldn’t accept credit or debit cards Wednesday afternoon until they closed at 8 p.m. because of phone line issues. “Nobody really got upset,” Trent said. “We were just thankful the ATM was working.” Some students covered for each other by offering to pay for others’ food with their Tiger cards, and the credit card option became available again Thursday morning. Students weren’t the only ones helping each other out. Dining Services staff shuffled around jobs to alleviate issues caused by a short staff. Trent, who usually works a cash register and oversees other employees, mopped a few floors and worked in the dish room to keep things running smoothly. “We were shorthanded, but we weren’t — we were just differently staffed,” Trent said.

3 | iced.

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Professors, students stay flexible as classes canceled for two days By ANDREW MADDOCKS editor@thedepauw.com

Students and professors trickled back into classes Thursday morning after the first two-day school closure in decades. Professors dealt with the closures however they saw fit, with some assigning work via e-mail or Moodle. And finding a steady rhythm for the semester in the next few days will be about as unsteady as a walk down the ice-covered Locust Street sidewalks. Monday night, President Brian Casey made the final decision to close DePauw for Tuesday. He heard through weather forecasts that Greencastle was in the path of the ice storm at about 8 p.m. He then consulted with Public Safety, the Student Life office — which spent all day Monday finalizing a severe-winter-weather plan — and other administrators to make sure students would stay fed and safely sheltered through the storm. With a satisfactory plan in place, the cancellation announcement was e-mailed to students around 10 p.m. Monday night. “I hate closing school,” Casey said. “It’s very funny because when you’re a little kid waking up you spend your whole life hoping school will be closed.”

The safety of everyone around campus took precedent over a regular class schedule, he added. The closure came as a relief to freshman Dakota Dalton, who was stressing out about finishing homework for Tuesday. Instead, he stayed up later and hung out. “It felt a lot like a middle-school snow day,” Dalton said. Closing school affected hourly employees’ pay and vacation time. The university has an inclement weather policy for less-severe storms. The school stays open and faculty and staff are asked to decide for themselves whether they feel safe driving to campus. However, the university closed, so hourly-wage employees who worked were paid overtime and didn’t lose a vacation day. Faculty don’t have vacation or personal days in the traditional sense, said Vice President for Academic Affairs David Harvey. They’re expected to teach and hold office hours, and make other arrangements for necessary absences. So faculty members’ pay and vacation remained technically unaffected by the school closure, though canceling class was not their choice. All academic buildings were locked and swipe card access was deactivated on

Tuesday and Wednesday. When English professor Wayne Glausser heard classes were canceled, he said he “wasn’t really surprised” after hearing predictions of catastrophic weather. He sent students in his three classes an e-mail telling them he’d follow up once school was up and running again. Tuesday night, Casey toured several greek houses and living units checking in on students. He said he thought their spirits were good. As the rain, sleet and snow continued to fall Tuesday, the administration dove into discussions about keeping school closed Wednesday. The administration decided Tuesday evening at 5 p.m. to cancel classes again on Wednesday. At 7 p.m., Putnam County restricted travel on county roads to emergency vehicles, making travel impossible anyway. Around the same time Dalton read university announcements that classes were again canceled for Wednesday, he heard the power was likely to go out. He got excited. He loaded his cargo pants pockets with — among other things — a compass, pocket knife, energy bar and Vaseline. He packed towels around his College Street

dorm windows for better insulation. He also made sure his phone was charged. As the bad weather continued Wednesday, classes started looking uncertain for Thursday too. While missing one class in each schedule block — Monday/Wednesday/Friday and Tuesday/ Thursday — would not affect the semester, canceling classes both Tuesday and Thursday would have been more disruptive, Harvey said. The administration sent out a guide to digital alternatives to class in the mean time. Professor of English Amy Locklin considered a live Moodle forum discussion Tuesday, but decided against it when she heard classes were canceled. By Wednesday night, Greencastle lifted the travel ban and only recommended against driving. Facilities Management workers also had plans to hand-clear and salt one path to every academic building, so Wednesday evening the administration decided to reopen the university for classes at 10 a.m. Thursday. Students walking to class felt temperatures hovering in the teens but saw the sun shining and water dripping off roof tops. “I’m glad to get out of my apartment. I already fell once, and I hope it doesn’t happen again,” said senior Elizabeth

Level 1 emergency keeps county road crews busy By Tyler James news@thedepauw.com

In his 15th year as director of Putnam County Emergency Management, Kim Hyten called this week’s ice storm as the worst he’s seen. Putnam County reached a Level 1 weather emergency at 6 p.m. Tuesday, restricting travel on county roads to emergency vehicles only. Hyten said this was the first time the county had reached Level 1 since the county flooded in June 2008. The ice covering the county’s roads, stairs and sidewalks poses danger to both citizens and emergency crews. “If you get hurt as a responder, then that patient that’s already hurt is just sitting there,” Hyten said. “I think this is the worst one due to the fact of the ice and the power outages. We have a tremendous

The county’s 911 Center fielded over 144 calls for incidents Tuesday night, including several large fires throughout the county, according to Kim Hyten, the Putnam County Emergency Management director. amount of power out.” Under this Level 1 emergency, Hyten said county officers had the authority to penalize unauthorized drivers on the roads. “Drivers can be pulled over and issued a ticket, but that’s not the goal,” he said. “The goal is to keep the roads clear for emergency personnel.”

Wilson on her way to class Thursday. “I guess you could say I have mixed feelings about it.” Many professors were still unable to travel, however, and canceled classes. Jen Everett, assistant professor of philosophy, was among those still holed up at home in Greencastle on Thursday. Though Everett said she thought DePauw handled the storm well, she would have liked classes canceled Thursday as well to give people a day to adjust to normalcy. Her daughter Clara’s day care was closed, so she skipped office hours to stay home and take care of Clara. “The care of my child completely eclipsed my concern about the curriculum and that sort of thing,” Everett said. Worrying about walking back and forth to class paled in significance to grocery shopping. “My life and my family are the central part of my concern,” Everett said. “We’ll pick up with the curriculum, it’ll be fine.” As the ice slowly breaks up and melts away, Casey expects it to take several days before classes are back to a normal pace. “It was amazingly complex closing a university,” Casey said. “It’s actually more complex reopening it.”

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Emergency personnel were busy Tuesday night. enc Hyten said the county’s 911 Center fielded overm144 erg e calls for incidents overnight, including several of large fires throughout the county. stateremained unLEVEL 1: As of Wednesday night, the county der Level 1 emergency, though the city of Greencastle had lowered the emergency level to 2. A Public Safety “State of Emergency; Travel restricted to alert sent out at 2:37 p.m. Wednesday announced the Emergency Personnel.” change. The e-mail defined the Level 2 emergency as “conditions are threatening to the safety of the public. LEVEL 2: Only essential travel is recommended.” Hyten warned any citizens to be careful when go“Conditions are threatening to the safety ing outside. of the public. Only essential travel is “You can fall down and break something, and if recommended.” you don’t have a phone there, you’d be laying there until someone finds you,” Hyten said. “It’s a serious SOURCE: DEPAUW PUBLIC SAFETY situation right now.”

What does it all mean?

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4-5 | iced. Extreme winter weather pummels campus, leaves community

Near right: Two students step gingerly down Burkhart Walk early Tuesday afternoon. margaret distler/the depauw;

Top right: Icicles cover the entrance to the campus. Meredith mcgrady/The DePauw. far right: Students display their enthusiasm about the campus closing on the blackboard located on East College lawn. meredith mcgrady/The DePauw

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Left: A fallen powerline sits on the snow covered ground behind Montgomery Hall after the ice storm. Carly Pietrzak/the depauw; below: Simple Logic remains uneffected by the storm. meredith mcgrady/the depauw

Far left: The Alpha Chi Omega sorority lawn endures damage from the harsh wintry storm conditions. Carly Pietrzak/The DePauw left: Students remain clear of the ice coated sidewalks leading up to the Academic Quad early Tuesday afternoon. margaret distler/the depauw; above: Branches give into the heavy weight of the ice. Carly Pietrzak/The DePauw

6 | iced.

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Storm requires alteration to alternative rush plans

The melting begins

Icy weather forces Panhel to find new solution to alternative rush; events to take place in UB By RACHEL CHEESEMAN news@thedepauw.com

For women going through Panhellenic recruitment this year, the timing of this winter storm could not have been worse. In addition to disrupting the alternative rush schedule for the 20 women unable to participate in one of the three rounds due to athletic or academic commitments, the inclement weather will make second and third rounds of recruitment decidedly less pleasant for potential new members. Members of Panhel’s executive board met Wednesday to discuss the weather’s effect on the recruitment schedule and how to best adapt to new circumstances. Aliya Beavers, a Greek Life Coordinator and supervisor to Panhel, had to be picked up by Public Safety and brought to campus to attend the meeting. She said the purpose of the meeting was to find a solution that would be fair, effective, productive and safe for all rush participants. Senior Julia Rohm-Ensing, president of Panhel, said the weather is unlikely to have a dramatic impact on recruitment events on Friday and Satuday, but the events for alternative rush scheduled to take place Tuesday and Wednesday were canceled, rescheduled and slightly restructured. Typically, women participating in alternative rush visit two chapters a night over the course of three evenings to meet members and see the first floor of the chapter houses. On Monday, potential new members participating in alternative recruitment visited Alpha Phi and Kappa Kappa Gamma sororities. However, inclement weather prevented the Tuesday or Wednesday events to occur. The remaining four

visits took placeThursday evening in the Union Building, completing the process in time for Friday’s second round. Food will be provided for potential new members, and they will have 30 minutes to meet with active members of the four remaining chapters: Alpha Chi Omega, Delta Gamma, Kappa Alpha Theta and Pi Beta Phi sorority. Rohm-Ensing said the changes will minimize walking for all participants, and the choice to move the events to the UB rather than the various chapter houses should not place any chapter at an advantage or disadvantage. “The whole point of alternative recruitment is to acquaint the active members with the [potential new members],” she said. “Hopefully they’ll see this as an opportunity to meet members in a way that is safe and accommodates everyone.” As for the events on Friday and Saturday, Rohm-Ensing said that weather should not pose any significant problems and that the sidewalks should be cleared, but that “back up plans and back up plans to our back up plans” have been arranged in case weather conditions pose an issue. “Right now, we’re all systems go,” she said. Women participating in second and third rounds, however, are encouraged to wear boots and will be able to change into dress shoes at each chapter house if they so choose, and the time allotted for women to walk between chapter houses may be extended to allow more time for women to walk from chapter house to chapter house. Senior Kate Shipley, vice president of recruitment for Panhel, notified the chapters and participants of these changes in an e-mail sent shortly after the Wednesday meeting.

Senior Pucong Han pours hot water on his car to de-ice Thursday morning. andrew maddocks/The DePauw

7 | iced.

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‘Just chilling’: How DePauw dealt with the weather Ice skating, sledding or just keeping warm inside, DePauw students make the most of their days off By Allison Marino features@thedepauw.com

For the third time in 30 years, DePauw canceled classes due to severe winter weather. With an unexpected gift of free time, students scrambled to figure out what to do in the snow and ice. Interfraternity Council members went on rounds Tuesday night to ensure rules implemented during the recruitment “week of silence” remained observed by all chapters. IFC did not cite anyone for violations. “First-years aren’t supposed to be on fraternity property, so we are doing [rounds] all this week,” said IFC president Alex Kriegshauser, a senior. “It was pretty cold, freezing rain and stuff, but it wasn’t that bad because we were all bundled up.” While many students took the opportunity to go to bars and fraternities, some students took the time to slip and slide on an icy playground. A group of freshmen, including Carly Dutkiewicz and Caitlin Cleary, played outside Bishop Roberts Hall by sliding on their feet down a nearby ramp. “We saw lightning, and that brought us outside,” Cleary said. “We were inside watching movies all day and needed to get out.”

The “lightning” was actually a large spark from a malfunctioning transmitter near the building. “It’s actually the second time we’ve been out today,” Dutkiewicz said. “It looked really slippery and we’ve been sliding around all over the place.” While moving into their duplex, seniors Lauren Goff, Heidi Keiser and Kristen Chynoweth found plastic trays in their living unit. Taking the trays out on the ice, Goff, Keiser and Chynoweth spent the evening after their snow day sledding. “We were trapped inside and were trying to find anything fun to do,” Keiser said. “We are actually on an adventure to the gas station, but we decided to take the trays that were in our house when we moved in and started sledding.” Students were still out sledding during the daytime hours. Some students took to The Dells, while freshmen Kalen Granger and Kyle Pate decided to go down the hill in front of the Theta Garden by the Green Center for Performing Arts. Granger described the experience as “awesome, but a little painful” and the two retreated from the cold to get hot chocolate. “The ‘snow-pocalypse’ really isn’t that bad – we’re just chilling, no pun intended,” Pate said.

Freshman Yechan Hong laughes as he pushes fellow freshman Nick Nguyen down the slippery, ice-coated hill of Theta Garden on Wednesday afternoon as a group of friends look on. Margaret Distler/The DePauw

Other students chose to enjoy the weather by watching it from indoors. Members of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity invited friends and classmates over for a night of movies and relaxation to celebrate the unexpected vacation. “We took in a bunch of friends who lost power, watched a lot of movies, basically we had a movie night,” said sophomore Reid Conner. Steven Shapiro added that FIJI’s cook could not make it in because of the weather but members of the fraternity helped out with cooking. Both Shapiro and Conner said they have enjoyed not having class because it gives them time to work on the large amount of homework they already received and prepare the chapter house for upcoming recruitment events. Some freshmen used the snow as an opportunity to try to take advantage of campus traditions. Stuck indoors, freshman Bailey Anstead and some of her friends tried to get in the elevator in Humbert Hall and stop the elevator between the third and fourth floors to write their names. “We were riding the elevator trying to stop between the third and fourth floors to write out names on the wall,” she said. “We took a break to play board games at Lucy (Rowland Hall) but we are going back for round two soon.” Even faculty seemed to enjoy the free time. Dean of Academic Life and Associate Professor of Classical Studies Pedar Foss and his children enjoyed some time outside by playing hockey in their driveway. “I’ve skated my entire life – I’m from Minnesota,” he said. “Our driveway was clean of debris, we had about three-quarters of an inch of ice and we got some kids from the neighborhood to play boot hockey.” Foss also said his kids took their skates and played outside for another hour on the driveway. Foss said the neighborhood kids “had a great time” and that he “enjoyed the craziness” as well. Professor of English Susan Hahn lost power at her Greencastle home at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday night, but with a little resourcefulness, she could still enjoy a warm meal. “We [cooked] lunch over the barbeque. We had potato soup which we made yesterday morning, we toasted bread, and boiled water for tea once we chipped away the grill,” she said. “We were really appreciative when the power came back on – much more than normally.”

Sophomore Lukas Meyer ice skates near East College. Carly Pietrzak/The DePauw

Sophomore Taylor Jacks pays attention to his footing as he walks back up the slick, ice-covered hill of Theta Garden on Wednesday afternoon. Margaret Distler/The DePauw

8 | iced.

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Storm displaces 200 for a day Alpha Chis spend night away; Delts decide to stay home

Ice covered the wrought-iron gate on Locust Street Tuesday. Meredith McGrady/The depauw By Chase Hall news@thedepauw.com

The severe weather of this week’s ice storm forced some students out of the warmth and safety of their homes to seek shelter elsewhere. On both Tuesday and Wednesday, students had to be moved from their residences by Public Safety because of power outages and dangerous conditions, including fallen tree branches and power lines. About 200 students total were affected, said Cindy Babington, vice president for Student Life. Whole apartment complexes were asked to find another place to sleep Tuesday night after a power outage left them in the dark and without heat or running water. Students in a house on Walnut Street were also told to evacuate because there was thought to be a power line on their back porch. The students found places to stay with friends in various living units across campus, said Babington. Residents of the Delta Tau Delta and Alpha Chi Omega chapter houses also had to relocate after losing power Wednesday morning. Many Alpha Chi residents brought their bags to other sorority houses Wednesday afternoon in preparation for an overnight stay, but when power returned to the greek houses at 2 p.m., they returned home. “The bulk of them (students living in Alpha Chi and Delt) were still living in those facilities and were never moved,” Babington said. “The

guys at Delt weren’t very interested in moving. We had spoken with them and they were fine. They were going to wait it out. “Had it been any longer than one night, we were going to look at rooms at the Inn for them,” she said. Senior Julia Rohm-Ensing and her roommates were moved from their Hanna Street apartment when their entire complex lost power. “Public Safety and [Dean of Student Life] Dorian Shager drove over right away,” Rohm-Ensing said. “They gave us some options: to stay where we are, find a friend to stay with or we could be relocated to the lobby of a residence hall for the night.” The university called Duke Energy. The company promised to fix the solution as soon as possible but gave no time frame to the residents. Rohm-Ensing and the rest of the residents of the complex returned home later that afternoon when their apartment regained power. As of Wednesday morning, 151 students were without power and were being prepared to move to another residence for the night, until the power came back on. After a similar storm four years ago, the administration prepared an action plan so they would be ready to act in case of emergencies. “The consensus in the group is that we were much better prepared for this emergency than the last time it happened,” Babington said. Despite losing power and having to evacuate her home, Rohm-Ensing said the events of the day were “absolutely worth two snow days.”

graphic by matt welch/the depauw

s of 2 p.m. Wednesday, 3,184 storm-related power outages were reported in Putnam County, according to Duke Energy’s website. As of 5:45 p.m., that number had dropped to 1,516. Duke monitors power for the majority of central Indiana homes outside Indianapolis. Vigo County, with the county seat in Terre Haute, Ind., boasted the highest number

of outages, with a reported 13,431 outages as of 2:16 p.m. Wednesday. Duke spokeswoman Paige Layne said the company anticipated that power would be restored to all Putnam County residents by noon today. She added that the potential for new storms could affect that timeline. “Certainly any time there’s

weather, there could be outages,” she said. On campus, several living units lost power. Delta Upsilon fraternity experienced the loss of a boiler for heating the house Wednesday, and several other living units saw their lights flicker during the storm. — Matt Welch; news@thedepauw.com