On Friday, Sept. 27, ETSU fell into an active weather investigation in response to Hurricane Helene sweeping through the East Tennessee region. This left the university at a delay, then early closure and currently a week of class cancellations.

“As the day began to unfold and we saw what was happening in communities around us, then we made the decision to close at 3 to give people the opportunity to get back home,” said University President Brian Noland in response to the delayed closure decision. “So when you’re making decisions predicated on weather, there’s nothing that’s certain. You do the best you can with the information that you have.”

(Contributed/ETSU)

The weather response team, comprised of Chief Operating Officer Jeremy Ross and his affiliates, have been keeping track of Helene’s aftermath in relation to the university. Following their resources with the National Weather Service, this team has been making calls based on the impact on neighboring communities. With students, faculty and their families affected, the team found it apparent that the university, which has been almost completely untouched by Helene, remain open as a main hub for those seeking assistance.

“For many of our students, this may be the only place with power. It may be the only place with water. It may be the only place with food. We didn’t close campus Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, because for many of our students, they needed a safe place to be,” said Noland.

When asked about the timeline of these university decisions, Noland urged that they were made as quickly as possible with the rapidly changing information available at the time. He described the university’s response as being in two phases. Phase one included the welfare checks of our students and faculty. Phase two includes the preparation to move into the communities we aim to assist.

The university is currently hosting drives for food and supplies within the D.P. Culp Student Center. Donations will also be taken at this Saturday’s football game. Hot showers in the CPA have been opened up to the community, and the dining hall is making accommodations for students in need of meals, as well as donating over 800 meals to the community. Residence Halls are also posing leniency with housing resources, and rearrangements are underway in order to offer a safe space to students in need. As we slowly adjust back to our regular class schedule, students who have lost technology in the damage will be able to receive a laptop and hotspot for their personal use. Many of these efforts are student organized and led, with the implementations becoming fully operational as soon as Sept. 30.

One disaster response training has been held on campus and another will follow in order to prepare the ETSU community to volunteer on-site in areas affected. However, it is being strongly pushed that those willing to volunteer do not self-deploy and only do so when experienced organizations are ready for them to do so. Noland noted the university’s reception of messages from some large disaster relief organizations, sharing that they are “not yet ready for our people.” This is to avoid overwhelming shelters or setting back operations on accident. The Bucs Stuff The Bus supply drive has also been expanded to include schools who were affected as well.

Photo of the ETSU community during a disaster response volunteer training. (Contributed/ETSU)

In terms of university operations, professors are being instructed to provide leniency in the classroom. The university health clinic has been working to open up their resources to the community and campus public safety are remaining on top of response efforts.

“Our students, our faculty and our staff care. They’re resilient. They’re going to roll up their sleeves. They’re going to get to work and they’re going to help,” said Noland. “There’s thousands of stories of acts of bravery and kindness that our students are involved in now that we don’t even know about. They’re just doing it because that’s who we are as a campus. That’s who we are as a community.”

While the future is currently unpredictable, ETSU is working diligently to adapt in ways that will best serve the region during this time of hardship and loss. Flexibility is one of the words you may find most used in the university’s operational efforts, but from the Buccaneer community, the sentiment is hope. The recovery process from the devastation of hurricane Helene is sure to be a multi-year process, and ETSU is beginning discussions on how to maintain its efforts to serve with longevity. However, one thing has been made clear; our campus community stands strong together.

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