History was made once again atop Ferrum Mountain, with mother nature delivering a blow to campus that forced the administration’s hand to cancel classes for the safety of the students for the first time since 2009.
The storm hit campus hard on its first day, with the 1.41 inches of rain being frozen over due to the low temperatures. This caused President Mirta Martin to declare classes to be virtual so as to not put any students or faculty members at risk of injury.
“In the time I’ve been here, I don’t remember seeing the college close for the length of time that it did this past week,” said English Professor Katherine Grimes, who has been teaching here for the better part of 33 years.
The last time weather conditions had been nearly this severe was back in 2009, as the President’s Chief of Staff Courtney Brown recalled.
“I remember an unexpected snow storm that hit on the last day before staff went on winter break,” Brown attributed. “I barely made it to the grocery store and home before everything was covered.”
The classes that were set to commence on these days were not cancelled without work being given to students to make up for the missed time. Many professors opted to perform class virtually through Zoom meetings and assignments posted digitally.
“Part of that difference (in cancelling classes) could be because it is now relatively easy to switch to virtual learning, so there isn’t a need to keep the college open when severe weather hits,” Grimes attributed.
Just when the campus thought it could get by with virtual learning, the power went out all throughout Franklin County, including campus, and from which some households in the county still suffer.
Crews are still working along Rt. 40 and in other parts of the county to ressurect power lines.
Martin was swift in addressing the issue, using connection with a Ferrum alumni to pave the way for a resolution to be reached in a timely manner.
“I reached out to Secretary Bryan Slater for assistance, and he was instrumental in connecting us with the state’s emergency center and making Ferrum College a priority for Appalachian Power,” Martin stated. “The Secretary put me in contact with the State’s emergency personnel, who then directed me to the Franklin County emergency personnel. I stayed in contact with both entities throughout the day.”
Power was restored to campus in a couple days, but many are still dealing with the aftermath and damage.
