by Joe King
While crews from the Physical Plant scrambled last weekend to clean up campus in the wake of flooding, the Division of Student Affairs was faced with challenges of its own.
Employees of the division found their best-laid plans washed away by the torrential rains that interrupted what had been an exemplary Opening Day, with 3,337 students checking in to the halls.
Packing 40 mph winds, the storm not only drove hundreds of volunteers and thousands of students and their parents inside but also eventually forced them into storm shelters when tornado sirens began to wail in the midst of the downpour.
Despite the disruptions, most agreed that those working the event made the best of the situation.
“I am proud and appreciative of the Student Affairs staff members who worked tirelessly to create an important first impression for 3,500 new students and their parents, and, from what I saw, succeeded admirably in spite of pouring rain, tornado sirens, evacuations and subsequent flooding,” said Brian Hemphill, vice president for Student Affairs.
The disruptions to the move-in process were just the start of a wild weekend for Student Affairs.
The rains that left parts of campus awash also washed out several events.
Canceled were Thursday night’s Great Huskie Bash, Friday’s New Student Convocation, Friday Fest and a number of other events on campus, as well as all Friday events at DeKalb’s annual Corn Fest. As a result, dining halls found themselves springing into action a bit faster than anticipated, serving up more than 2,000 meals Thursday night and Friday to students who typically would have dined at Welcome Week events.
“The dining staff really pulled together and everything went fine,” said Kelly Wesener, executive director of Housing and Dining.
Hall directors and community advisers also had to think on their feet, finding ways to keep students entertained and interacting while they were cooped up in the halls instead of partying in Central Park as planned. Among the solutions were karaoke contests, impromptu alcohol education seminars, an evening of board games and (between rain showers on Friday) campus tours.
“Our staff came together, brainstormed a list of things they could do and ways they could begin to build a sense of community,” Wesener said. “We always try to do that during those first few days; we just had to deal with some different circumstances this year.”
One unique activity that kept students busy was filling sand bags.
Student Affairs recruited more than 60 students from residence halls, and another 40 from Greek organizations and area apartment complexes, who were bused to a City of DeKalb facility where they helped to fill 10,000 sandbags that were credited with protecting many area homes and buildings from floodwaters.
“Our call for volunteers to help with the flood effort resulted in an impressive turnout by the NIU community,” said DeKalb City Manager Mark Biernacki. “We are grateful to the many students who came out and filled sandbags, saving many people’s homes from the floodwater and flood-related damage.”
Meanwhile, Housing and Dining also found itself faced with evacuating students from its newest housing complex, the Northern View Community.
Floodwaters surrounded the facility, located just northwest of the Convocation Center, creating concerns that residents might be trapped and cut off from emergency services should more rain fall. Working with NIU police and Transportation, Housing and Dining moved residents out and relocated them to appropriate housing around campus while also trying to contact other Northern View residents scheduled to arrive and move in Friday.
“For the most part, students were very understanding and appreciated that we were just trying to keep them safe,” Wesener said.
By Saturday morning, Northern View residents were returning to their homes and the planned schedule of Welcome Week activities resumed.
Reflecting on the weekend, Hemphill said his entire division, as well as all the students affected by the situation, deserved praise for prevailing over difficult circumstances.
“Housing and Dining, Student Involvement and Leadership Development, Recreation Services and the Crisis Response Team were critical in balancing the needs of the DeKalb community in crisis, and of the students we serve,” Hemphill said. “I commend the incoming students for their flexibility, understanding and resilience throughout the unpredictable weather situations and challenging start to their fall semester.”
