The Sandspur Volume 124 Issue 2

Issue 2 • Volume 124 Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017 www.thesandspur.org

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IRMA BRINGS FIRE AND FURY Erin Crawford ‘20 was forced to evacuate her home mid-storm when a power line fell on her home and caught fire.

Ellie Rushing

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Editor-in-Chief

rashing, humming, and orange flames are what Erin Crawford ’20 heard and saw as she looked out her window around 12:30 a.m. Monday. Crawford’s house, located in Chuluota, FL, fell victim to Hurricane Irma’s 110 mph winds when a power line fell on her house, caught fire, and blocked all suitable exits for the family to escape. At first, Crawford just thought the humming noise was part of her television show, but when the orange flames enveloped the windows, she knew she had to get out.

“Because of the powerlines down and the orange view stretching near both exits, I wasn’t sure how we were going to get out. I honestly thought we were trapped because our usual escape plan was my boarded-up

bedroom window.” said Crawford.

Luckily, Crawford’s father, a retired firefighter of 31 years from Seminole County Fire Department, had a backup plan for his family. After evaluating all exits, he showed his daughter the way out. Erin, with her cat in one arm and dog in the other, safely evacuated with her parents. However, once outside they were not necessarily safe, as this was during the prime hours of the Irma’s fury.

“The wind was blowing and it was still raining pretty heavily,” Crawford explained. “We were going to go to the car and drive away, but when the power lines burst they went into the driveway and were too close to the car, so we ended up going to our next-door neighbor’s house, who had just called us to tell us our house was on fire.”

‣ See FIRE page 2

Photo by Ellie Rushing

Should I stay, or should I go?

As the shadow of Irma loomed over Florida, many Rollins students experienced difficulty even after deciding to evacuate. Those who stayed at Rollins remained safe.

Jojo Peloquin

T

Writer

he worst of Hurricane Irma hit the Rollins College community between midnight and two a.m. on Monday. Through the preparation process for the hurricane, Rollins College updated the entire community with Hurricane Alerts explaining the campus’ first order of business. The first alert came from President Cornwell himself, notifying the campus that class was canceled Friday because of the hurricane; the college had decided to allow those that were concerned about

the storm to evacuate as quickly as possible, and though that sounded marvelous to some, others began to panic with ideas about whether they would be staying or leaving the Winter Park area. Through email, President Cornwell stated that Rollins would be establishing a shelter in the Bush Auditorium, for those who chose to stay on campus or could not evacuate.

Before entering the shelter Sunday morning, students were advised to bring a pillow, sleeping bag or blankets, phone and charger, change of clothes, toiletries (no showers would be available), required medication,

games or books to pass the time, and a reusable water bottle. Students were also reminded not to bring alcohol in the shelter.

Three meals a day were provided, but students were encouraged to bring snacks.

Many of those who stayed in the shelter reported doing so because it seemed like the best option. Ruzgar Zere ’18, an R.A. in Elizabeth Hall, said, “My feeling was it was more secure than any other location around. It was probably the one of the only places that did not lose power, so we enjoyed ourselves, watching Netflix, singing with Sam Sadeh’s karaoke machine, and

more. Overall, the lively atmosphere inside made you forget about the atmosphere outside the building at times.” Others that stayed in the shelter felt comfortable, but the lack of showers was a difficulty few could ignore.

For those students that decided to evacuate the Florida area, traffic, accessibility to fuel, and the rising costs of flights were major issues. Within my Elizabeth Hall and Pinehurst staff group, we found flights starting at $2,000 because of the rising demand to get out of Florida, but there were companies like JetBlue that capped their flights out of Florida at $99.

However, Orlando International Airport closed at 5 p.m. the Saturday before the storm, limiting options to students. Others that decided to drive out of Florida or to North Florida had to sit in traffic delays over double the time of the actual trip. Evan Rogers ‘18 drove with a couple friends to Atlanta, Georgia, and a trip that should have only taken them six hours in reality took fourteen.

Even my trip home back to Louisiana had to be split into two days, because it took 12 hours to get out of Florida instead of 6 hours.

‣ See CAMPUS page 7

2 • SEPTEMBER 21, 2017 Established in 1894 with the following editorial:

EXECUTIVE STAFF Ellie Rushing Editor-in-Chief Christina Fuleihan Managing Editor Production Manager

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FEATURES

Six things I learned from Irma

Nature can gather itself into forces that dwarf human concerns, things, and plans. It doesn’t really care about our schedules, projects, or priorities. It can be sublime in the scope of its power: awe-inspiring and frightening even as it is wondrous. Nature can destroy what it creates and create anew what it has destroyed.

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Finally, I learned that resilience matters. College semesters are highly complex and orderly. Every faculty member crafts the syllabi for their courses with great precision and creativity. Athletic schedules are set many months in advance.

Preparation for musical and theatrical performances are carefully orchestrated. Campus events of all kinds claim their space on the calendar sometimes a year out. We now share the mighty challenge of reorganizing all of this organization without giving an inch on our aspirations for the depth, rigor, and richness of the semester.

There is nothing quite so moving as seeing what people will do to help one another when pressed by adversity. There is a fabric to civil society that has seemed threadbare and tattered of late; Irma showed us that there is still strength in that fabric.

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Sound reasoning never draws conclusions about trends or causation from single instances, but the credible predictions about climate change include predictions of weather extremes out of proportion with historical norms. As I watched the vastness of Irma consume all of Florida, from Key West to Jacksonville, as I was reminded of the scale of rain and flooding produced by hurricane Harvey in Texas only days ago, I couldn’t help but wonder whether climate change is not some subtle shift over time but an acute concern, the effects of which we are feeling right now?

FIRE ‣ Continued from page 1 Electrical hazards pose some of the deadliest threats to residents during and after major hurricanes. Many people forget that circuits do not always turn off when a power line falls into a tree or onto the ground. Even if they are not sparking or humming, fallen power lines can kill you if you touch them or the ground nearby. Power lines continue to scatter the grounds of the Crawford residence; however, emergency first-responders have determined they are not a risk.

Looking very close to home, our home of Rollins College, the tireless effort, care, and mutual concern that we showed towards one another demonstrated that we – and I mean all of us – have bonds to each other and to this place that are deep and strong.

There are too many who deserve to be recognized by name. Here let me simply express my deepest respect for those who gave so tirelessly to provide for the safety and security of our students and campus: all of the good people in Campus Safety and Security, Facilities Management, Grounds & Landscape, Housekeeping, Information Technology, Marketing & Communications, Residential Life & Explorations, and Sodexo. Without regard to their own anxieties, concerns, and struggles, scores of our community members tended to the needs of this home and family before their own. Bravo!, for their courage and commitment.

Luckily, a fire station is located one street away from Erin’s home, so first-responders reported almost instantaneously after receiving the call. “Between the first responders answering so quickly, and the rainfall that was coming down, the danger was over as quickly as it started,” recalled Crawford.

However, the fallen power line was not the only source of damage to their property.

“When we got back to the house, we walked the yard for damage. That was when we noticed the tree that was now laying on top of our house. The tree had fallen on the power lines,

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Semesters have a life of their own. They are living, breathing units of time with rhythms that matter. We had just launched our fall semester at Rollins with all of its attendant fanfare and anticipation. I worry that the energy and focus of the semester has been disrupted by Irma. We need to join in solidarity that we will recapture this semester, and return our focus to our mission at Rollins. which caused them to break and land everywhere. Previously in the night, a branch had flown across the street from a different tree and knocked out part of my mom’s rearview window, as well as my taillight. There is another tree down on power lines across the street from us, which caused a transformer explosion around 3 a.m.” she explained.

Although the family experienced these traumatic events, they received power back around 2 p.m. on Tuesday, September 12.

However, as of Wednesday, September 13, more than 4.4 million Florida residents remained without electricity. At the peak of the storm, the Department of Home-

I hope we all will show resilience in the coming days, with all the patience, generosity, and fortitude this campus community already demonstrated, as we reconnect with each other and our common purpose.

Fiat Lux! President Cornwell

Photos by Ellie Rushing and McKenna Leaden land Security reported around 15 million Floridians lost power.

The Crawford family remains thankful they were all able to make it out of the storm safely.

No members of the family were injured during the fire, but it is an event they will forever recall during preparations for future natural disasters.

Erin closed our interview by reflecting on the storm with positivity. “I feel extremely lucky that what I felt was just a scare rather than the physical or emotional trauma that could have resulted. Overall, I am glad everyone is safe, that the house is still in one piece, and that Irma has moved on.”

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OPINION

Creativity despite catastrophe

Daniel Loh ‘19 offers an inspired take on Irma, finding beauty in even her most destructive elements.

Photo by Ellie Rushing

The issue with Irma In light of Hurricane Irma, Managing Editor Christina Fuleihan ‘19 dedicates this issue to the victims and survivors of this “super-storm.”

Christina Fuleihan

T

Managing Editor

his storm has affected all of us. Irma was a monster, and no one in the Rollins, Winter Park, Florida, or the greater Caribbean community was spared.

Our neighboring islands of Barbuda and Antigua, Barbados, St. Barthelemy, St. Martin, and Anguilla received the brunt of Irma’s violence. Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba were similarly devastated by this record-breaking storm. Some members of the Rollins community call these places home, and, even if we do not personally know natives from these neighboring states, our hearts go out to those hundreds of thousands without homes, without shelter, without power, and without security. We all must stand united as survivors of this super-storm.

It is up to us to remember the 68 lives that were taken across the Atlantic during the storm, and it is up to us all to help rebuild that which this storm destroyed.

There were moments throughout this debacle when we were all scared; when our friends and families were fleeing the storm in the days before Irma struck land and when the lights were flickering on and off in the wee hours of Monday morning, we were plagued with doubts.

It only takes one accident for an emergency to become a tragedy.

For some of us, this was the first hurricane we ever experienced; for others, Irma signified something much larger than another cyclone hammering the southeastern border of the United States. It was the Earth’s call for

help, begging us to reconsider the effects climate change are having on our planet.

Three hurricanes (Irma, Jose, and Katia) were born in the Atlantic Ocean in a matter of days; let us not forget Hurricane Harvey, which devastated Texas earlier this month, or the short duration of Tropical storm Lee during that same time. This pattern of destruction was not a coincidence. This was a warning, and millions paid too high a cost for it to be heard.

The island of Barbuda was practically slaughtered—95% of the island’s buildings were completely decimated. It will take years before the island is able to rebuild itself; some think that it will never be able to restore itself back to its original glory. Everything on the island must be restructured and re-erected. And yet, there is still some light at the end of the tunnel. Interviews with natives showcase the best that humanity has to offer. The people on the island are mourning, but they are still so thankful to be alive. To hear them speak can make you incredibly aware of your own mortality. Whether it was the parents thankful that their children were able to sleep soundly through the worst of storm or the people working together to ensure citizens were evacuated or sheltered from Hurricane Jose, when the threat of a second onslaught was still very real, we can all stand to learn something from these brave individuals. As human beings, we are survivors; we are fighters, because, while our power may be gone for a few weeks, our strength is greater than ever.

Irma did not get the best of us. However, we should all be

wary of our very human vanity, because the next super-storm just might. Furthermore, as this storm has shown us, we are all helpless in the face of natural disasters. Here in Winter Park, we were fortunate. Irma’s trajectory changed multiple times and lessened the toll on us, but we must remember that it was a very close call. It could have been much worse. Even after Irma had passed, the worst was still to come. People along both the west and east coast of Florida lost access to their homes with the coming storm surge. Some Rollins students were forced to evacuate with their families, and while the damage is being assessed, they may or may not have a home to go back to.

Streets were flooded, buildings fell. As the storm grew closer, even emergency personnel made it clear that they would not be able to conduct rescues until the wind speeds decreased.

No weather channel, no weatherman accurately predicted the path of destruction that this storm would take. Its trajectory was beyond human calculation; let this serve as a lesson to us all.

We do not understand the planet we live on as well as we think we do. So, we must take care of it while we still can to prevent even greater tragedies than this.

This edition of The Sandspur serves as a tribute to our experiences during the storm’s rampage. It is a place where we, as members of the Rollins community, have come together to share our stories and to lend our voices to preserve a part of our history that will live on in our memories for decades to come.

Daniel Loh

T

Writer

he storm’s onset is slow, and her almost gentle forthcoming lulls one to sleep as her farthest reaching bands drop inordinate amounts of water on a land that is more or less accustomed to receiving such showers. Her gradual worsening can go unnoticed, save for when a foreshadowing gust of wind whips loudly enough to momentarily hold your attention. The bombardment of rain is constant and thick, its angle changing slightly as time passes from its downward perpendicularity to the earth in the direction that the wind wills it.

Hours go by, and while Irma is not yet upon us, she has asserted her dominance as the preeminent force of nature in the state of Florida. Her presence is hard to ignore and becomes increasingly more so, even as I am tucked away safely in my home.

The stage is setting.

Mother Nature is readying a spectacular display of power and catastrophe, and all those who bear witness are sure to remember the show.

I fall into impromptu sleep and awake to find her advance has brought ever stronger winds and precipitation; however I can still feel that the worst is yet to come. Trees that once had an uncompromised control of their structures now had little say in what direction their branches pointed. The wind, menacing, howls ferociously.

Once one has grown used to hearing the continuous onslaught of gusts assaulting one’s shelter, only the exceptionally loud and frightening blows catch the mind’s eye, briefly calling into question one’s current security. Heavy sheets of rain blanket the ground, sedulously soaking everything it can. These torrents of downpour are rivaled by the harsh winds in their intensity, and the two complement each other quite terribly.

The thick of a hurricane

The opinions on this page do not necessarily reflect those of The Sandspur or Rollins College.

brings about feelings that you rarely feel. Being taken by storm can have the effect of giving one an emotional cocktail rich in fearful apprehension and incomprehensible awe. Sitting inside and essentially being forced to stay there, hiding and waiting helplessly while a dreadfully unyielding and uncaring system wrought of destructive energy lays siege to your region is humbling. I recall opening my front door to check out the scene outside and being met with utter chaos; the wind wailed as loudly as a jet engine and flood waters raced down the street to their fate in whatever storm drain was closest while ever more rain fell and structures still standing continued to be tested. We can consider ourselves lucky when our situation is compared to the sheer obliteration that those islands in the Atlantic saw, when a much stronger Irma passed overhead.

Though it featured no rain, the morning after was reminiscent of the worst of the storm because its wind and destruction lingered. I finally walked out of my home to asses any damages to it and the surrounding area.

The man-made and the natural alike laid strewn across the landscape. Trees and brush were scattered everywhere, and every aspect of the environment I surveyed showed stark evidence of an unusual and devastating event having taken place. A hawk frantically calls out to no avail, misshapen trees and even uprooted ones mark the terrain, their leaves dotting the ground in thousands, and more yet falling from above. Sections from every fence have been pushed past their limits. Traces of flooding are prominent features of this domain and much of the lower-lying plant life, my grass in particular, have been combed neatly towards the street. The spectacle looks simply wild, just as the indiscriminate annihilation and utter mayhem of the storm did.

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FEATURES

IRMA FAST FACTS

Jacksonville Record flooding was reported at St. John’s River.

Winter Park

• Death toll is 34 and rising in Florida and 36 in the Caribbean.

• Approximately 16 million homes across the Southeast lost power.

Naples Hit with 140 mph winds, six-foot storm surge, and 12 inches of rain.

• 6.3 million Floridians were forced to evacuate, making it one of the largest evacuations in U.S. history.

Miami Five foot storm surge sunk and beached dozens of boats.

• $120 billion in projected damages will be spent in the United States and across the Caribbean.

• Irma sustained 185 mph winds for 37 hours, which is the longest any hurricane has ever sustained intensity.

Key West 25% of homes have been destroyed and 65% are heavily damaged.

Cuba 10 dead and two-thirds of the country are still without power.

• It was the first Category 5 hurricane to hit the tropical Atlantic since Hugo in 1989.

• This is the first time that the U.S. has ever had two Category 4 hurricanes strike its mainland in the same year.

• Hurricane Irma remained classified as a Category 5 hurricane for three days, the longest time ever recorded.

Barbuda 95% of buildings have been damaged or destroyed.

• Irma’s tropical storm and hurricane force winds spanned an area of 70,000 square miles.

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FEATURES

Winter Park, Fla.

Winter Park, Fla.

Chuluota, Fla.

Chuluota, Fla.

Naples, Fla.

Naples, Fla.

Photos by Ellie Rushing

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OPINION

“Stuck” on campus: or were they?

While many students opted to leave campus in preparation for Hurricane Irma, roughly 230 students, faculty, and staff members took shelter in Bush Science Center from Sunday through Tuesday.

Lodovica Dal Monte

S

Writer

leeping on the floor never sounded so good! Well, it definitely has its limits but I cannot complain.

When I packed up from Italy a few weeks ago to come to Rollins, I thought I was coming to the Sunshine state. As it turns out, we all have good days and bad, including Florida.

Never having been through a hurricane before, I clearly did not know what to expect. I was somewhat worried at first, but when I started getting texts from people back home that I had not talked to in years, it made me think that I might as well have gone to war. With that being

Maura Leaden

I

Writer

spent my weekend surviving the hurricane in the Bush Science Center (also known as Hotel Bush). During my stay there, I felt safe and well informed. I did not even regret my decision to stay on campus until I heard that classes were going to be canceled for the entire week of September 11.

Although we experienced intense rainfall and howling winds, we did not lose power.

Personally, I found it a bit underwhelming for my first hurricane experience. I was expecting more excitement, such as seeing lightning or hearing the trees sway and snap.

The highest point of drama was some flooding on the first floor of Bush around 11 p.m. on Sunday night. Rainwater leaked into the Bush atrium through the floor-to-ceiling windows and the

said, my parents were the only two who were not worried at all.

I do not know if that is because this was their chance to get rid of me for a little bit, or because they were so far away that they could not do anything so they tried to sound calm to keep me from worrying.

Staying at Rollins during the hurricane was a choice that came gradually. I thought about booking a flight anywhere, but the week flew by too fast for me to even realize that all of a sudden it was already Friday and every flight was already booked. One thing was for sure: I was not going to risk getting stuck in traffic lines on the highway or train stations by myself, so the Rollins shelter was my safest bet. To be

clear, Rollins was not my last choice; I simply wanted to explore my options before I committed to any situation, because like we all know, my decision could mean serious consequences.

On Sunday morning, I was up and ready, my bags full of things that have personal value to me like pictures, hand-written notes from friends, and anything that had a little bit of who I am attached to it. I chose a spot in Bush and began exploring the place we would call home for the following days, though we were not sure how many.

I laid down and rested for awhile, until I woke up and found President Cornwell and his lovely wife and dog in front

of me with a batch of freshly baked cookies. Although that was really sweet, it was not one of my best moments given that I was still half asleep. Apologies, Mr. President!

My serenity would come and go every now and then, not because I distrusted the job that every staff member was doing but because the fear of the unknown would sometimes get the best of me. This feeling peaked when we had to immediately go to the auditorium because of a tornado warning. Late that night when the hurricane was at its peak, I kept staring out the big glass windows of the Bush Science Center with my fellow students who, just like me, were shocked and amazed by the in-

credible forces that were upon us.

It felt great to be dry on the inside of those windows with all those committed and gracious staff members who were there for us and with us. They did their best to keep us entertained and happy. This included warm food, drinks, movies, and NFL Sunday games.

If I had the possibility to go anywhere in the world during the hurricane, there would not have been a place that would have treated me as well as the Rollins shelter. Free food, movie marathons, and friendly conversation-- what more could a student ask for? But, having said that, I am excited to sleep in my own bed again!

glass-door entrance behind the café. Campus Safety handled it completely and calmly. Later on, when the eye of Irma passed over around 2 a.m. on Monday morning, I slept through it.

Many actually seemed unfazed by it all. Students managed to use the time very productively for work. In addition to these peaceful moments, there was also a brief freestyle rapping session and the live-action version of Beauty and the Beast was shown in the auditorium. On the second day, there was even a Harry Potter movie marathon.

There were about 230 people in the shelter. The majority were students, but there were also a few faculty and staff members.

Even President Cornwell and his wife, Peg, made appearances. They made rounds with their adorable 6-month-old dog, Sailor, and some homemade chocolate chip cookies.

The only low point came

Monday afternoon when President Cornwell came to the Shelter Meeting in Bush Auditorium to announce that classes had been canceled until the following Monday. At that moment, the faces of the international students, out-of-state, and even local students alike were full of shock and disappointment. The instant rush of “What?!” was understood by everyone in the same situation to mean, “I could have gone home for an entire week and a half?” The cancellations were a sneaky move that only Irma could predict. It got most of us heated for the afternoon as we rushed to look up flight prices to spend a solid four to five days at home, only to find that most of the flights leaving Orlando were sold out anyway.

We understood that we were lucky in our situation of extremely minimal destruction, but we could not help but be jealous of the students that had gotten to

go home for the week. Social media was overflowing with “Irma made me do it” captions as well as pictures of smiling classmates visiting their friends’ colleges, giving their family members extra hugs, and even going to New York Fashion Week shows. Of course, I did not blame the school in this decision since they had no way of knowing what the consequences of the storm would be.

However, I was still envious of the 50% of students (more or less) who got to flee Florida and get a vacation of about a week and a half. As an occasionally bitter out-of-state student, I had calculated all of the friends’ colleges I could have visited in that amount of time.

Yet, besides that plot twist at the end, I did enjoy my time in Bush. My favorite spot of the weekend was a corner study space outside of Dr. Yellen’s office on the third floor, where the students were friendly and their

use of essential oils was a complete pro-tip for keeping the air smelling fresh. My favorite moments were getting to catch up on movies. I watched Under an Arctic Sky, a documentary by cold-water surfer and landscape photographer Chris Burkard (a long time Instagram inspiration of mine), and later I watched Vampire Academy with my sister and friend in our own corner of Bush.

I would definitely stay in Hotel Bush again. I 100% appreciated the attitude of the staff and students staying in Bush.

The morale was medium to high all throughout the stay. My only recommendation is that you make sure you bring an air mattress, or even your mattress topper from your dorm room bed. If you do not have anything, it will most likely be brutal.

All in all, after spending 52 hours there, I’ll never be able to look at Bush the same way again.

The opinions on this page do not necessarily reflect those of The Sandspur or Rollins College.

FEATURES

7 CAMPUS ‣ Continued from page 1 Gas was another reason why it took myself and many others more time to get out of the area; when looking at a gas availability app, only 42% of the state had gas Thursday evening. All of the gas off the interstates and highways was gone, so drivers had to take detours to rural areas to find gas. After making it out of Florida, the roads opened up to congested driving, rather than stop-and-go traffic. Something drivers did not have to worry about were tolls; Governor Rick

Scott’s state of emergency lifted the tolls on every freeway, making it easier to evacuate Florida.

Communication with the school was direct during the storm because Rollins faculty like Leon Hayner, the Senior Director of Residential Life and Explorations, were also among those that boarded up in Bush.

The students that evacuated had to rely on the Rollins Alerts that were sent out every day with updates. Students that evacuated were unsure about when to come back to school, when the storm would hit, and what the weather conditions were like up until

the storm blew over. Those that evacuated that work for Residential Life were fortunate to have direct communication with those making decisions on when classes would resume, but the students that did not have that line of communication. We had to wait for Monday evening’s Rollins Alert that explained classes would not resume until Monday, September 18, 2017. This was decided because of the assessment of the damage on campus and the need to accommodate those that evacuated with adequate time to travel back to campus.

Though communication was not

ideal to many that left campus, most students felt that their safety was being accounted for when the decision was made.

Students in the shelter were released Monday night after the curfew was lifted. Residential Assistants and House Managers were encouraged to travel safely back by Wednesday and Thursday, while the campus put together an Anchor Down Clean Up project to help gather debris.

Outside of Rollins, Winter Park experienced major power outages caused by fallen trees taking out power lines. Clara Correa ’18 left her home Monday during

curfew to assess the damage around her neighborhood. She saw fallen trees blocking roads and damaged houses, and while she was out, she ran into emergency personnel that warned her of live power lines hidden in fallen trees. After that encounter, she chose to return to her house until the curfew had been lifted. Orlando International Airport reopened to limited airlines Tuesday, September 12, 2017.

Those that returned to campus by car were met with even more traffic, but students were fortunate enough to return to a campus with no major damage.

Applauding Campus Safety and RLE Two weeks before Hurricane Irma devastated Florida, Rollins employees in Campus Safety and Res Life began the exhaustive work of preparing our campus for the worst. which is in constant contact with Orange County and FEMA. The EOC manages emergency logistics, planning, operations and finance/ administration.”

Leon Hayner, the Senior Director of Residential Life and Explorations at Rollins, was responsible for organizing all of the residence halls and the hurricane shelter in the Bush Science Center. His experience was intense, as there were “250 students, fac-

ulty and staff that spent 48 hours at the Rollins operated emergency shelter in the Bush Science Center.” Thankfully, everything went smoothly, including hot meals for the students and staff provided by Sodexo. The students and staff passed the time with games, books, study materials, and laptops.

Of course, none of these operations would have been possible without the hardwork-

ing and dedicated staff members that work at Rollins. Staff members such as Rayburn, who worked 56 straight hours at the EOC, inspire us in many ways.

Excellent support and cooperation from the college community led the entire Rollins community to a successful conclusion, and for this we are very proud and grateful to attend a college that truly cares about its students and proves it through its actions.

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hat a week it has been! I hope everyone is safe and comfortable with their family and friends. Hurricane Irma is finally behind us; however, the repercussions of Irma were quite notable all over the state of Florida, especially in the South. Thankfully, Central Floridians are blessed with our interior location, far from the water and recovering from minimal damage. Nevertheless, a hurricane of this magnitude needed precautions no matter where in Florida we were located, and here at Rollins College our emergency team made sure to do just that. Safety precautions, evacuation steps, and emergency plans were all made way in order to ensure a safe and secure Rollins community for all.

The student body was very pleased with the way Rollins College had reacted in making sure all the necessities were met for staff and students. Their smooth and seemingly effortless response could not have been made possible if not for the impressive emergency staff and faculty who worked diligently to prove that Rollins is ready for any natural disaster that comes its way.

To get a closer look as to what plans and precautions were made at Rollins, I was able to get a few words from the personnel that were critical to the school’s success. Ken Miller, the Assistant Vice President of Public Safety, had been monitoring the storm for approximately ten days prior to it reaching Central Florida and

was able to give students and staff an ample amount of time to evacuate.

He also informed me about an emergency plan that has been in place for 10 years known as the Emergency Operations Plan, or EOP. He stated, “Rollins has been following this emergency plan regularly while reviewing it annually through various tests and drills. This plan allows easy integration with local first responders.”

Similarly, the Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) is another system that allows teachers to be able to use a variety of technology in order to provide instructions to their students.

Overall, Mr. Miller believed wholeheartedly that, “Rollins has a great group of emergency essential staff that place the College as their high priority and everyone who has played a significant role in preparation of this storm should be extremely proud of their efforts and determination.”

Another essential member of the emergency team is Scott Rayburn, Rollins’ Safety and Emergency Planner. Rayburn enlightened me with even more information on the EOP and its duties, including, “saving and protecting student and staff member lives, providing essential services, managing communication, providing and analyzing information and so much more.” If students wish to learn more about this plan, it is available through Foxlink on the left side of the main page.

He continued by stating that, “all of these functions are coordinated through the College Emergency Operations Center (EOC),

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FEATURES

8

Irma ‘SPARC’s students into action

Allison Wilson

T

Writer

his past week, civilians from the islands of the Caribbean to South Carolina dealt with the wrath of Hurricane Irma, the most intense hurricane observed in the Atlantic Ocean since Hurricane Dean back in 2007.

In neighborhoods all over the Sunshine State, there were many reports of power and wi-fi loss, flooding, tornado warnings, and fallen trees. Our own beloved Rollins campus experienced carnage of its own in Irma’s wake.

The normally picturesque campus was found covered in debris after the storm, and while thankfully the power did not go out on campus, there was still a lot of cleanup to do before the campus could run normally. “ W h e n Hurricane Irma hit, I stayed in Bush [Science Center] because my family lives in Maryland and I couldn’t go back to escape. When we left Bush, I saw so much debris around that it was unbelievable,” recalled Caitlin Cherniak ’18. “I had to make sure our college returned to its beautiful glory, so I came to clean up to give Rollins the love it gave me four years ago.”

Caitlin and many other students, faculty, staff, and members of the Winter Park community with a similar passion for our campus gave back in a big way in just a little over 3 hours on Wednesday, September 29, by volunteering for the Anchors Down, Clean Up event.

The event began on Critchfield Park as assembled volunteers were given waivers, gloves, sunscreen, and other supplies to make their jobs run smoothly.

Volunteers were assigned their jobs after a welcome speech from President Cornwell, most responsibilities consisted of picking up fallen debris around various zones on the Rollins campus. The debris was placed in approved

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piles along the grass so that the landscaping department would have an easier time getting rid of branches and moss strewn about in clumps after Irma.

After the debris was sorted through and cleaned up, the volunteers had the option to write thank you notes to those who had given their support to those on campus during Irma.

Finally, the event capped off with a few closing remarks made by several volunteers about their feelings on the events of the day and the past week as a whole, concluding a free celebratory lunch in the campus center to thank all of the volunteers for their hard work.

One of the best parts about the event was that it was able to show how strong and diverse our pride is among our college community. Every demographic from freshmen to seniors, Greek life to independents, those who stayed on campus to those who stayed off during Irma, and many more came out to help. In fact, the college received such a positive response to its query for volunteers for the event that the original signup sheet filled up all of its slots within the day, and many who had not signed up joined in to help anyway. Mary Edwards, the Assistant Director of Landscape and Grounds, said that she was “delighted and impressed with the students’ support.”

But Manuel Solis-Bauza ’20 best summarized the overall feeling of the event: “Community is very important where I am from, and seeing everyone come out and help repair our home really brought a smile to my face. It shows that no matter what, when it matters, our family comes together to help each other out in our time of need. That, I think, speaks volumes.”

This event showed that Hurricane Irma may have been strong, but the Tar spirit is stronger.

When we left Bush, I saw so much debris around that it was unbelievable....

Photos by McKenna Leaden