This past weekend, Elon University fell victim to widespread power outages. The power outages were due to winter storm Titan that struck Alamance County. These blackouts affected the majority of its on-campus (and later off-campus) housing neighborhoods. Many students across the Elon campus were thrown out of their usual day-to-day routine as a result of these outages. Despite being without power and heat, the strong community feel of the Elon campus made sure all students were taken care of during the storm.
Some may question the strength of our athletic teams, academic climate or lack of diversity on campus, but after the recent power outages it would be hard for anyone to argue that our campus is not a community. As soon as the majority of students lost power, residential advisors sprang into action to make sure their residents were safe. Once residents of Colonnades, the Global Neighborhood and Danieley were ordered to evacuate their residence halls, several students helped one another pack and moved their belongings to locations on campus that had power.
Smith Jackson, vice president of student life, attempted to keep students informed while directing them to locations with power, but at the end of the day it was the students who played an integral role in making sure everyone was safe. A university can flaunt a student body’s academic and athletic success, but what can’t be printed on an admissions pamphlet is the strong community ties a student body feels. If we are to take away one lesson from this weekend’s power outages, it is the community is stronger than ever.
Wicked snow storms, cold temperatures and freezing rain have made this winter a tough one for the Elon community. Physical Plant has been working tirelessly since the start of the new year to keep the campus safe and accessible, but they have been fighting an uphill battle against Mother Nature.
A few days removed from the power outages, our campus should continue to strive to be a community, both in times of struggle and times of triumph. We often get caught up in our busy schedules and fail to take the time to look up and see what is around us. Coming from Massachusetts, I know I’m guilty of always being in a rush and often find myself being caught off guard when someone asks me how my day is going or says hello.
The power outages provided an excellent opportunity for me to step away from classes, my phone and any other commitments so that I could get to know a few new people around me. Losing power and heat is never fun, but I am glad to have had the chance to break away from the monotony of my daily schedule.
As we return to classes, practices and other commitments, we should take a moment to reflect on this weekend’s events. It’s impossible to quantify discomfort, but our campus did an impressive job persevering through the cold without electricity. The Elon community pulled through the ice storm of 2014 because we stuck together and helped one another. Moving forward, we should take comfort in knowing our campus is strong and can handle anything if we embrace everyone in our community.