Brendan Downes
News Editor
A large amount of snow storms hit the country over the last two weeks, causing shutdowns, power outages, and dangerous circumstances across the United States. According to the BBC, 25 deaths were reported last week in Tennessee alone. Young Tennesseans have seldom experienced a January filled with winter storms of this magnitude. Although Sewanee managed to avoid a power outage, unlike thousands of people across Tennessee, students and professors alike can attest to enduring a series of inconveniences following these winter storms.
Photo courtesy of The University of the South
Being located on the Cumberland Plateau, Sewanee experiences frequent drizzle, an annual snow shower (usually), and is typically around 8-10 degrees colder than nearby urban areas below the Domain like Chattanooga. Even though one would suspect that a school located in such a variable region would be built to withstand low temperatures and damp conditions, Sewanee’s outdated infrastructure was not prepared for an exceptionally icy January.
Acting Provost Scott Wilson and the Emergency Management Executive Team held the burden of monitoring the weather and canceling events accordingly. Consequently, five out of the first seven class days of the spring semester were held online. The cancellation of in-person classes stemmed from sidewalks and roads lined with ice where students would have difficulties in going to class, especially if they live away from central campus. Furthermore, a university lacking professors who live on campus adds to the need for virtual instruction. The lack of housing for professors has become increasingly apparent post-pandemic. The economic tumult of the past four years combined with Sewanee failing to raise faculty salaries in accordance with inflation prevented more professors from living near their place of work. Former Sewanee Purple editors Anna Cook and Mitch Shakespeare have written articles regarding this subject, which you can check out on our website. This is all underpinned by a lack of available and affordable housing on the mountain. The lack of proximity becomes particularly frustrating when icy roads persist and in-person classes return.
The frigid weather also called attention to Sewanee’s architectural disadvantages. Anonymous students living in dorms without in-room heating systems have reported difficulties staying warm during the night as temperatures drop to the single digits. Students attested to difficulty traversing campus to get to the dining hall and other essentials because of frozen pathways leading to and from their dorms. Ice was shoveled off of the sidewalks near the center of University Ave in front of the Chapel, but ice was not shoveled off sidewalks in front of most dorms. Additionally, as winter debris collected on dorm roofs, snow and ice began to fall below onto students’ vehicles causing damage. Sewanee’s eclectic dorms also face a unique challenge in that some dorm rooms such as those in Benedict, Courts, and Trezevant open to outdoor courtyards. This makes it especially difficult for students to mitigate the cold’s effect on their comfort and security. “Tall buildings can experience frequent wind-driven icing at higher elevations. The ice collects in large volumes on parapets, cold walls… and other structural elements, and then falls” (Building Design Considerations In Cold Climates). Most of Sewanee’s dorms are multi-story buildings with sloped roofs made with subpar materials and techniques relative to the contemporary means available.
Though the Sewanee community faced a hectic week, Vice-Chancellor Dr. Robert Pearigen is treating this as a learning opportunity. Following the climax of the winter storm, the Emergency Management team met with Facilities Management to “debrief” and think about “what we might have been able to do better.” Pearigen emphasized that thought and care went into tackling the icy conditions, but a serious lack of resources weakened the operative response.
“We have limited equipment because it just doesn’t happen very often,” Pearigen said. The VC also noted that the university only has one plow.
“I think they did a great job staying on top of it. The problem is that it got worse as it went on because of the icy conditions,” Pearigen said.
The lack of resources for fighting the ice led to the Emergency Management Team and the VC inquiring about outside help. “We could probably use some more salt,” Pearigen said. “We looked to the county for support, but they were clobbered as well. They got here as soon as they could, but it was not easy for them either.”
The hard-working snow shovelers and the Emergency and Facilities Management Teams deserve credit for a quick and adequate response to weather rarely encountered as often in the South. As students, we can only hope other subgroups of Sewanee’s organization, like Residential Life, take responsibility and improve what they can. “We’re learning lessons,” Pearigen said. “We want the place to be a safe campus.”