Amanda Gipson
[email protected]
The campus was not alone in closing its doors due to Hurricane Sandy. Wilkes, King’s, Kutztown and Penn College of Technology were just a few of the schools that announced closures yesterday.
“I am a little worried. Monday I was supposed to get the credit card and do all the shopping for the Spanish Club’s event on Wednesday. (El Dia de Los Muertos or Day of the Dead event)” said Cynthia Valenzuela, 19, a sophomore who hails from Las Vegas, Nev. and who has not experienced this kind of weather event before.
“I am from the desert. We would have experienced rain at the end of November maybe but it never rains like this. In Vegas, it floods bad. You will lose power but it is rare. It almost never happens.”
“When I came here, I was surprised when I went to school in the rain. I am not used to it. At home (in Vegas), if it rains, classrooms flood because there are no drainage systems.” she noted.
Lisa Hartz of the library staff said she remembered the college closing on Sept. 8 last year when Tropical Storm Lee caused all kinds of problems with rain. This storm caused the Susquehanna River to rise to record levels and cancel the Bloomsburg Fair.
Brian Bittner, emergency manager for Penn State said in a mass email there are things everyone can do to be prepared at home and at Penn State to ensure safety and the continued operations of the university.
Bittner advises everyone to monitor the weather situation to ensure the most up-to-date forecast for their area. The latest weather information is available at http:// www.weather.gov/philadelphia (eastern Pennsylvania), http://www.weather.gov/statecollege (central Pennsylvania).
If anyone does not already sub- scribe to the PSUTXT emergency notification system, sign up now to receive text message alerts via cell phone: http://live.psu.edu/psutxt.
Information related to the storm and Penn State operations at any campus will be communicated to the public, if necessary, via local media outlets and social media platforms, such as the campus home page, Facebook and Twitter. PSUTXT alerts for all Penn State campuses are sent to Twitter, and can be followed at http://www.twitter.com/psutxt.
Students should contact resident assistants if they have any questions regarding the storm. As a reminder, while the campus still has power students should make sure all cell phones and laptops are charged.