Once again this semester, Longwood University closed due to inclement weather. From Wednesday, Feb. 12 to Friday, Feb. 14, classes were canceled with various facilities on campus closing early or delaying openings throughout the week.
Students, faculty and staff were advised to move their vehicles to any Longwood parking lot other than Bristow by 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
Only a few weeks earlier, classes were canceled Jan. 21 at 2 p.m. with a delayed opening the day after at 10 a.m.
Chief of Longwood University Police Department (LUPD) Bob Beach described the event, saying, “It was a significant event for us in the region.”
Students, faculty and staff were alerted of the school closings and delays by emails from Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Tim Pierson, the Longwood University webpage and Facebook page, as well as the alert system, e2campus.
Beach stated that the process of closing the campus in reaction to inclement weather is made by what he referred to as, “The Weather Events Team.”
This team is composed of Pierson, Director of Landscaping and Grounds Maintenance David Love, Director of Facilities Operations Ben Myers, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Ken Perkins, Vice President for Administration and Finance Ken Copeland and Chief of Staff Justin Pope.
The group of staff members collected on Wednesday as well as Thursday in a “long, lengthy discussion” on whether or not to cancel classes, according to Beach. The decision for each school day to be canceled was made separately in case the weather improved.
While there is concern for the safety of all students, faculty and staff, it is commuter students as well as faculty and staff who do not live in Farmville who are of the highest concern.
Beach said that the process of canceling classes is “really not that complicated, though somewhat busy.”
Beach is in charge of emergency management for the university and says he tries to stay “situationally aware” of inclement weather.
With the service WeatherSentry, Longwood University is able to maintain contact with a meteorologist 24 hours a day with real-time data to allow full knowledge of the weather forecast.
The LUPD staff also monitors when the events begin to affect the campus and then contact Beach and the other staff members to evaluate what the “operational stance” of the university should be.
With the communication maintained with the meteorologist on hand, Beach said, “We do the best we can.”
By 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Beach stated that it was expected for the weather to worsen, which did occur, further stating that traffic accidents and road closings had begun to occur only an hour later.
At first, Beach said that he was worried for the students, especially those who were sledding as well as a few students who he claimed built snowmen on Iler Field, only to later tackle them.
“I didn’t know if it would become out of hand,” he said.
Despite this, Beach said, “People were acting very, very responsibly.”
On Feb. 19, 2012 as well as Nov. 14, 2012, the first snow fall in the school semester resulted in couches being lit on fire.
In an article printed on Feb. 21, 2012 in The Rotunda, Beach described the actions as “sophomoric.”
In terms of how the student body behaved this semester, Beach said, “I was so proud of the students.”
Beach reported that there were no reports of injury, few complaints and no couch fires.
Due to the good behavior of the students, Town Manager Gerald Spates suggested Beach as well as Chief of Farmville Police Department Doug Mooney to close Buffalo Street from traffic to allow the students to sled safely.
Beach emphasized, “That was a gift given to us by the town,” and that there is no likelihood that the same “gift” will be given with each school closing.
Throughout Wednesday through Friday, the LUPD worked 18-hour days with some staff members sleeping on the floors, reported Beach.
“There was a lot of hard work done to make sure this place was safe and up to speed, and I’m very proud of them all, and I’m very proud of the students for how they responded to all this,” Beach said.
*With additional reporting by Editor- in-Chief Becca Lundberg
