Best of Florida Schools 2005
Best Hurricane Response

Gimme Shelter
Hurricane-struck Students Hit Back
There’s probably a shortage of babies this year named Charley, Frances, Ivan, or Jeanne. But there was no shortage of people in need—in need of shelter, power, water, clothing, food, and comfort. After a fall that defied all statistics—who ever dreamed that FOUR hurricanes would hit us in six weeks?—Florida students showed the country that they were also a force to be reckoned with. With everything from supply drives to providing a campus for students whose own school had been scrubbed off the map, the students, faculty, and administrators of Florida’s campuses got busy even before the storms had passed.

Brace for Impact
The fall semester had barely started when the hurricanes came to school. This created a pretty steep learning curve on the east coast. Indian River Community College had a hurricane-readiness policy, but policy wasn’t enough to shore up the roofs and buildings against Frances. “All five IRCC campuses were impacted,” wrote President Edwin R. Massey in his article, “In the Eye of the Storm.” “Roofs gave way, allowing water to destroy ceilings, flooring, furniture, and equipment. Air conditioners and ventilators were ripped from buildings. With more than 180 trees down, the college looked like a war zone.” The campuses rallied and revamped their preparedness policy to include more hands-on protection efforts, although all assumed this new policy would be used in later hurricane seasons—not three weeks later when Jeanne came bearing down on them. Employees volunteered to stay on campus and serve as building managers, mopping up water all night and seeing to repairs as they came up, rather than allowing them to escalate.

When the hurricanes hit, one of the most important tasks was to get most people off campus and sheltered safely. Of course, many students returned to their homes, but it wasn’t just employees who stayed behind to assure the safety of the schools. “The residence life staff played a major part in keeping the campus safe before, during, and after the storms,” says Michelle Hibbard, assistant director of student activities at Florida Institute of Technology. The RAs got preparedness info out to the residents, helped ready the rooms for potential water damage, and even transported their charges to the airports to evacuate. During the storms, the RAs earned their water wings, mopping and sweeping and doing everything they could to get the water back outside where it belonged. After soggy nights and miserable conditions, the residence staffers stayed strong to keep the campus a positive place to be. “One afternoon after Hurricane Jeanne, I walked into a stuffy dining hall with no air conditioning to find RAs preparing, serving, and cleaning, and the food was great,” Hibbard says. “Even though the conditions in the hall were terrible, there was not one RA working who didn’t have a smile on his or her face.”

At Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, all but 50 students evacuated. Thirty of the remainder were housed at Halifax Memorial Hospital, where they chose to stay busy and volunteer their help. “Their stellar performance during their first three days at Halifax prompted the hospital staff to hire the students,” says Jim Hampton, director of public relations. “They were paid for their efforts during all the dates that the storms cancelled classes at ERAU.” But ERAU had a unique evacuation problem to attend to as well—the fleet of 62 airplanes that live on campus needed safe shelter as well. After Charley ruined one plane and damaged a dozen more, it was time to fly in the face of the storms. “This mission required 62 instructor pilots, incredible planning, and an evacuation that would rival a major military operation,” Hampton says. “It was costly—more than $250,000—but worth it.” The fleet stayed safely grounded in other states for the remainder of the stormy season.

At the tip of the peninsula, surrounded by water, students at the University of Miami give kudos to the school for making safety the priority. Behind boarded windows, students had the luxury of in-dorm dining, and commuter students were treated like family, allowed to stay on campus as long as they needed. “Students in the dorms were alerted to the status of the storms and given instructions on how to stay safe,” says student Minal Ahson. “Overall, the students were extremely satisfied with the accommodations made for the storms.”

Back in the Saddle
There’s nothing like a good party to help students get in the mood to come back to school. Although many surely welcomed the return to normalcy, few students ever balk at free food and entertainment. After hits by three hurricanes, the folks at Florida Southern College returned to campus to discover a surprise picnic, but this was no weenie-on-a-bun affair. “Faculty, students, and staff enjoyed comfort food from Sonny’s Barbeque, Olive Garden’s pastas, and Ben and Jerry’s ice cream,” says Diana Young-Stewart, administrative assistant. Even without electricity, the parties continued statewide. “Southeastern is the place to be when it comes to hurricane parties,” says Kacey Walton, Southeastern College’s Student Body Leadership Council administrator. Students went low tech and played tag, Twister, manhunt, and Monopoly. “When hurricane after hurricane kept coming through central Florida, we knew what was ahead of us: laughter, camaraderie, and wonderful memories,” Walton says.

Many of the students at Pensacola Junior College were hard hit by Hurricane Ivan, so although the party thrown by Student Leadership and Activities included munchies and music, students also got free school supplies and post-hurricane survival help. “Grief counseling and a free clothing closet were provided for students and staff who were strongly affected by the storm,” says Dennis Reynolds, district coordinator for student leadership and activities. For some, the return to school had to be postponed, but the college had planned for that as well. “PJC’s administration provided tuition refunds to students who couldn’t stay in school and grants to cover book damage,” Reynolds says. PJC also had some extra company after Ivan came to call—it housed local law enforcement, the National Guard, a special-needs shelter, and a Red Cross center while the community got back on its feet.

Students at Florida Gulf Coast University could call on angels for help—Charley’s Angels, the telephone support program established to help students handle the post-Hurricane-Charley world they found themselves living in. “The program helps victims cope with feelings of anger, loneliness, and pessimism generated by the hurricane experience,” says Dr. Vincent G June, dean of student affairs. Although the line wasn’t staffed by Cameron Diaz or Lucy Liu, it did give students a way to find emotional support while trying to deal with the abrupt changes the storm had brought.

The two-week break that Frances forced upon Stetson University students may have stolen the fall break the college usually schedules, but it added to their wardrobes. “The College of Arts and Sciences has produced a T-shirt to commemorate this year’s hurricane season,” says Molly Justice, associate director of communications. The shirts reminded everyone that hurricanes span all the disciplines, spoofing seminar offerings such as “Communication Studies and Theater Arts – The dramatization of weather: Why bad news is good news for weather television,” “Computer Information Systems – 101 things to do while you wait to get back on-line,” and “French – "Oui, oui le seau d'eau est nécessaire tirer la chasse d'eau" (Yes, yes, a bucket of water is necessary to flush the toilet).” However, one school’s imaginary course offerings can be another’s reality. At the University of South Florida, geography professor Graham Tobin turned the aftermath of Charley into a graduate course to study the effects of the storm. “Academically, it’s exciting, and it may have relevance to society,” Tobin says. USF’s Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue, led by engineering professor Robin Murphy, was even able to field-test a new night vision sensor that could aid rescue and relief workers.

But a school isn’t a school if there are no classes being held. Seminole Community College may have lost a roof on B Building, but staff lost little time in recreating the schedule and finding rooms to house the classes. “Dozens of SCC faculty and staff pulled a few college ‘all-nighters’ to review class schedules and cross-reference building plans to relocate 4,000 students and 280 displaced classes to other rooms,” says Nate Weyant, public relations specialist. The end result? Tai chi students in the board room and writing classes in the plumbing labs. The destruction of B Building also has given the adult high-school program, formerly housed there, an unexpected perk—more mixing and mingling. “A positive result, for both the college and the adult high-school students, is that the AHS students are now interacting with the campus and staff on a daily basis, which should ultimately translate into increased college enrollment of AHS graduates,” Weyant says.

Getting the classes back up and running was important everywhere, but this is fall we’re talking about here—what about football? Administrators at Bethune-Cookman College had already shown their tenacity by making sure information was getting to students 24/7 by installing generators to run their Web site’s server. So, they quickly decided they weren’t sacrificing a second football game to the weather gods. With Jeanne swirling around the Atlantic, BCC officials moved the late-afternoon game to the morning, hoping to squeak by. “We have to look at it like this,” says Lynn Thompson, athletic director. “We sell breakfast at the concession stand instead of hot dogs and hamburgers!” Athletes at the University of West Florida decided to look past the stadiums and gyms and use their game-day focus to help their community. “Sports teams used their practice times to volunteer,” says Robin Jones, a Volunteer UWF! graduate assistant. Members of the women’s volleyball team and the men’s soccer team took their eyes off the ball to spend their time clearing away yard debris and salvaging materials for members of the community, including their own athletic director, whose home was reduced to nothing but the frame.

Spreading the Wealth
Whether schools got pounded or barely got a scratch, students across the state lent helping hands to others. Once they were done partying away the storms, Southeastern students headed out to clean up Lakeland. “Six hundred students divided into seven teams, loaded up on buses, and began their clean-up, which covered miles of the Lakeland area,” Walton says. The Student Government Association at Tallahassee Community College, led by SGA President Vasilios Dianellos, put together a relief drive, calling for all those things people need to put their lives back together after disaster: cleaning supplies, school materials, personal care items, and even pet supplies. More than 25 IRCC employees were left without homes, and many more sustained massive damage to their property. “This awareness prompted our post-hurricane assistance plan,” says Michelle Abaldo, director of institutional advancement. The fund drive came from within as the IRCC Foundation made $50,000 available for an Employee Hurricane Recovery Fund, and employees were able to claim their winter holiday bonuses months early, giving them the financial relief they needed to get past the disaster.

The fashions may be different around the country, but they’re pretty much the same in Gainesville and Pensacola. When students at PJC returned to school, they could “shop” as needed in a clothing closet donated by their counterparts at Santa Fe Community College. “We learned about the number of PJC students and employees who lost their homes and everything in them,” says Dan Rodkin, SG advisor. “Santa Fe launched a three-day clothing drive, hoping to get enough clothing and shoes to fill a pick-up truck.” They overshot the pick-up’s capacity pretty quickly and had to rent a large U-Haul, which they filled to the brim and hauled up to their Panhandle brethren. “The clothing was distributed to members of the PJC family, and after they took all they needed, the rest of Pensacola was invited to take whatever they needed,” Rodkin says. The SGA at Hillsborough Community College—Plant City actually sent students shopping for new duds. “The SGA voted to spend $1,000 to use for the purchase of Wal-Mart gift cards to be given to HCC—Plant City students affected by the hurricanes,” says Jennifer Quinn, student activities advisor. The gift cards supplemented the canned-food drive on campus.

Keiser College knows the world is a better place with a full tummy. “The Capital Culinary Institute opened their doors as a safe harbor and soup kitchen, providing hot, nutritious meals to hundreds of hungry, scared people,” says Carole Drain, director of student services. “The director of the institute, Dominic Cianciola, along with faculty and culinary students, prepared more than 500 gallons of soup of numerous varieties.” The Keiser gang also dished out more than 1,000 homemade rolls in under five hours. Even those off-campus were fed, as Chef Cianciola took the soup kitchen on the road to hard-hit Barefoot Bay and the Crane Creek Retirement Community. Stetson students knew that some people count fewer blessings even when it’s not hurricane season and targeted its relief efforts to the migrant population in the nearby town of Pierson.

Florida State University student nurses didn’t play it safe and stay near home; they answered the call of the Center for Disease Control and went to where patients needed them. Two nursing school faculty members and 13 students loaded up during Frances and helped staff special-needs shelters in Brevard and Putnam counties. “The clients they cared for had health and medical conditions that prohibited them from staying in their homes during the disaster,” says Katherine P. Mason, dean of the School of Nursing. “Examples included patients on oxygen who needed generator-based electricity, unstable diabetics who need regular monitoring and the administration of insulin, and the fragile elderly including patients with Alzheimer’s disease.” The experience gave the students a wider view of their profession. “Several of them have expressed that they were now more committed to the nursing profession than they ever thought possible, and a number of them now plan to work in public health at local or national levels,” Mason says.

Even those who lost the most found ways to give. Kim Hardiman, a student activities staffer at Daytona Beach Community College and a fine artist, created the DBCC Hurricane Gallery Exhibition to raise money for the American Red Cross, but it also served a therapeutic purpose. “The main purpose of the show is to give student and faculty artists a chance to express their feelings through their artwork,” Hardiman says. Her creation for the exhibition came from the wreckage of her own home and the ruined original artwork she was able to salvage. “Before they demolished my home, I saved four limbs from the tree that fell on my mobile home and completely destroyed it,” she says. Naming one limb for each of the four hurricanes, she created a multimedia sculpture expressing her feelings about life, destruction, and rebirth. Hardiman’s decision to create the four-day gallery show and donate the monies from it to the Red Cross came after the help she received from friends and students at the college when she was without a home for three months. “They gave me shelter, food, clothes, and money,” she says.

More than individuals received aid and assistance—whole schools were the beneficiaries of generosity. After Warner Southern College was hit by Charley, then Frances, and then Jeanne, the damage was substantial, says Charlene Lawson, director of public affairs. But Warner soon learned they weren’t alone in the rebuilding process. “One of the biggest and most positive impacts on our school has been the generous response of support from other colleges and schools. To date, seven of them have given more than $40,000 to help restore the campus,” Lawson says. “Warner Southern is grateful to Anderson University in Anderson, Ind.; Tamagawa Seigakuin High School in Tokyo, Japan; Warner Pacific College; Campbellsville University in Campbellsville, Ky.; Montreat College in Montreat, N.C.; Columbia International University in Columbia, S.C.; and Southern Wesleyan University in Central, S.C.”

Home Away From Home
The hurricane season left so much rubble across the state that it wasn’t easy to remember that places besides Florida were pounded by the storms. Some schools looked past the debris and downed power lines in their own state to places out of state or off the mainland that fared far worse. Florida Atlantic University took care of its own with a relief fund of more than $5,000 raised by SG and student affairs, but its Haitian Student Organization, Konbit Kreyol, conducted a two-month supply drive for the residents of the hurricane-ravaged island country. “More than six vans full of donated supplies were sent to Haiti through Food for the Poor, an international relief organization,” says Lynn Laurenti, director of internal communications.

St. George’s University students in Grenada saw their school virtually destroyed by Hurricane Frances. But, the forecast brightened as their friends at Barry University welcomed them to stay on campus. “The damage to St. George’s was so extensive, they had to relocate to the United States while their campus and homes are rebuilt from the ground up,” says Jessie Darga, university relations. But St. George’s students’ lives are not on hold until the rebuilding is complete. “Barry University opened its main campus to these students. Three hundred medical students are holding their classes at Barry until their campus is restored,” Darga says. “Barry is one of only three schools in the United States to host these hurricane survivors and the only school in the Southeast to do so.”

ERAU’s unaffected sister campus in Prescott, Ariz. took over the job of communications for the Daytona Beach campus. By calling Arizona, “a parent in Michigan could make an informed decision as to when to send a student back to Florida,” Hampton says. And although it’s a great relief to see that the crisis systems work, it’s even better to not need them anymore. “It was a great crisis-communication exercise,” Hampton says. “Now, I would like to go back to our routine summer hurricane-warning followed by no storm activity at all.”

by Stephanie R. Reck

Contact Abaldo at mabaldo@ircc.edu, Hibbard at mhibbard@fit.edu, Hampton at hampta3c@erau.edu, Ahson at mahson@miami.edu, Young-Stewart at dyoungstewart@flsouthern.edu, Walton at klwalton@secollege.edu, Reynolds at dreynolds@pjc.edu, June at vjune@fgcu.edu, Justice at mjustic1@stetson.edu, Cash at jcash@admin.usf.edu, Weyant at weyantn@scc-fl.edu, Ryan at ryand@cookman.edu, Jones at rmj4@students.uwf.edu, Rodkin at dan.rodkin@sfcc.edu, Quinn at jquinn@hccfl.edu, Drain at cdrain@keisercollege.edu, Rachel Cristofel, FSU Media Relations at rchristo@mailer.fsu.edu, Hardiman at hardimk@dbcc.edu, Lawson at lawsonc@warner.edu, Laurenti at laurenti@fau.edu, and Darga at dargaj@bucmail.barry.edu.

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