A storm blew across campus, toppled a power pole and knocked out electricity campuswide Monday morning.Student Ian Watson was sitting in his car when the incident happened. “I saw a lightning bolt strike,” Watson said, “and then a tree split in half, a pole fell over and power lines came down across the street. The road was blocked off, so I eventually just got out of my car and came to the Culp Center – I figured it would be sort of a safe haven.”

“Sparks hit my window,” said Josh Wolfe, a resident of Stone Hall. “The pole fell really close to my side of the building. It looked like a tornado or something.”

Emergency lights came on to light up a confusing scene inside the Culp Center after about 30 minutes of no electricity. Students and faculty were gathered, waiting to hear when the power would be back on and if classes would be cancelled.

As soon as the notice of cancellation was delivered by a staff member, students turned to leave while staff remained.

“We’re waiting on official word to see if we can leave, too,” explained Director of ID Services Charles Forrester. “They’ll have to determine which of us needs to be here to handle this.”

Meanwhile, the students working the Maroon 5 concert ticket booth were trying to make sense out of everything.

“Something like this has never happened,” said Matt Huffines, referencing the power outage and the rumors that it would be 12-14 hours before the electricity was back on. “As far as I know, the concert will still be going on. They’re still unloading, so they’re planning on having it.”

The concert was able to go as scheduled that night.

Though the day’s classes were cancelled and many students seemed to be in great moods, the storm also presented new problems for some.

“Electricity’s down in Lucille Clement Hall,” Heather Baker said, “and that means my card key won’t work. Doors won’t open because the system is electronic, so Lucy residents can’t get in. All the telephone lines are busy, too, so I can’t get through to Housing to try to figure something out.”

Nevertheless, many were still filled with the joy that only a day without lectures could bring. “I’m glad my 4 o’ clock’s cancelled,” Angelica Lockhart said.

“This is awesome,” said Gary Ellis. “It’s like Fall Break again!

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