Hood Today

Two storms that generated snow fall of approximately 40 inches, in combination with strong winds, were unexpected weather conditions for this part of the country. The first snow blizzard struck Maryland, and Hood College, on Friday afternoon, Feb. 5th. A Second, even stronger, blizzard hit on Monday, Feb. 8th.

A state of emergency was declared in the state of Maryland. Unusual weather caused an "event that we will all remember," as Chief Puller of Campus Security said.

Hood's campus closed on Friday afternoon and remained closed during the entire following week.

Numerous students wondered whether classes would be extended for an additional week or if spring break would be canceled. The answer came from Robert N. Funk, Provost and Dean of the Faculty, on Friday, Feb. 19th. He said that the spring calendar will not be altered, that spring break will occur as planned, and that professors will work out a plan with students in order compensate the lost classes.

Many departments worked without stopping in order to keep campus clear and safe, and provide students with food and entertainment.

The Facilities Department kept the vital emergency areas cleared even during the worst conditions of the storm.

The dining hall worked during the week of the storm with only slightly shorter working hours.

The Student Life office organized a Super Bowl night, trips to the movies, and shopping, as well as several other fun activities.

As Rick Kahley, director of Facilities Department said, "[Everything] was a team effort - [the] Facilities Department, Campus Security, Conference Services, [the] dining hall, and Residence Life had to coordinate in order to keep campus active, even though it was closed."
Hood College was cleared and ready to open during the week of the snowstorm, but many students, professors and staff were unable to come because of the weather and road conditions.
Rick Kahley said that a total of eight Facilities staff members were engaged in either snow removal or another administrative task.

In addition to the Facilities staff, about 15-18 outside contractors had to be brought in to help with the clearing of the campus during this unprecedented event. The contractors ranged from snow shovelers to snow blower operators.

Rick Kahley pointed out that at the height of the storm, the total cost of clearing the campus was $2,000 per hour. On Sunday evening after the first storm started, in preparation for the second storm an 800 ft. man lift was ordered to help clear the snow and icicles from the roofs, staff were scheduled, other contractors were contacted, and additional snow melting substances were prepared.

During Tuesday night, Wednesday and Thursday the operation to clear campus did not stop. Afterwards, shifts went back to 12 hours per day. Safety and protection was taken seriously.
Paths to Whitaker Campus Center and the dining hall were open at all times. In the final days before the college reopened, parking lots and other areas were cleared.

Chief Puller said that campus security officers took double duty, and slept over in order to keep 660 resident students, and the whole campus safe.

Rick Kahley also added that people who work in Facilities are usually very well prepared for extreme weather conditions, and most of them use four wheel drive trucks, so they did not have a significant number of people missing from work in the Facilities Department except for housekeepers.

Only six out of 28 housekeepers were able to report for work during the week of the snowstorm. Thus, the main priority after the storm was to get the entire housekeeping team together. The housekeeping team started with preparing residences, then classrooms, and finally the administrative buildings.

In addition to clearing the campus, the college voluntarily cleared and ploughed parts of Magnolia Avenue, Rosemont Avenue, Park Avenue and Fairview Avenue.

When school reopened on Monday, February 15th, some commuter students still had trouble getting here. Jacquelin Brazell, Frederick resident and a commuter student, said that when school started it was not easy to get to campus because Frederick main roads had snowdrifts and were iced over, while some of the downtown back streets were still blocked. On the other hand, professor Peg Ofstead said that it takes her 25 miles to get to Hood, and that I- 270 was plowed well, so she did not have troubles getting to work.

Janelle Dionne, who said, "I stayed in the residence hall and was lazy," captured how most resident students spent their unexpected break. "I tried doing homework, playing games with friends, and watching movies."

After days spent in the houses and residence halls, when snow stopped falling, Suzanne Mack, a Hood College student, noted that, "everyone wanted to get out and traffic got crazy, especially on the way to Washington D.C."

The storms were long and dangerous, but no one at Hood College reported being injured. Mr. Kahley noted that he hopes that students will take this opportunity to realize that they are responsible for their personal safety. He notes that there are numerous examples of students who did not take the whole situation seriously.

One example is of 4 students who built a snow cave out of the huge snow pile next to the Alumnae Hall. The problem was that they did not come out when a loud truck with a back up buzzer came to clear the snow pile. Luckily, a professor saw them, and ran to the driver and warned him that there were students in the snow.

Mr Kahley said that the snow clearing trucks are very loud and noisy. It is not easy for the drivers to hear and the visibility is limited, and that is why there is a buzzer to warn people to stay at least 50 feet away from it.

Another example is of students walking and driving next to snow removal equipment. Director of Campus Security, Richard Puller, helped to stop this type of student behavior. In addition to several e-mails that were sent, there were also meetings in the residence halls.
Aside from some negative examples, there were many examples of good and positive cooperation on the students' part. For example, many students walked around to avoid snow removal equipment. Mr Kahley says this was also a learning experience, and that students have to be aware that they are "not bullet proof".

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