By ALISON LESTER
Managing Editor
As students prepared to return to Saint Rose for the Fall 2011 semester, many wondered how they were going to move-in on the same day as Hurricane Irene’s inevitable clash with the Albany area on Sunday, Aug. 28. The Office of Residence Life began receiving calls as
early as Wednesday, Aug. 24 regarding the possibility of early returns to avoid moving in during the hurricane chaos.
An e-mail was sent out that Friday by Jennifer Richardson, the Director of Residence Life, letting students know that they were permitted to move in after 2 p.m. on Saturday. “We had approximately 300 requests between e-mails and phone calls for students to return on Saturday,” said Richardson. “I was still communicating with students on Saturday about moving in that day.”
The following day, Student Affairs sent an e-mail to encourage returning students who did not move in early to wait until Monday, when the weather would be calm again.
“In terms of move-in on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, we’ve had about 60 additional students move in who were unable to arrive over the weekend because of being impacted by the storm,” said Richardson.
As contributing writer TG Branfalt Jr. reported in the Tuesday, Aug. 30 article, “Irene Uproots Tree and Cuts Power in the Albany Area,” Hurricane Irene’s visit caused a flash flood warning in Albany County, and also brought with it high winds that “downed branches, power lines and left many Pine Hills residents without power.” Many surrounding areas also experienced damage, flooding, and power outages due to the hurricane.
Mary Alice Molgard, an Assistant Professor of Communications at Saint Rose, is also a Commissioner for the Berne Fire District, which consists of the Berne Fire Company and the East Berne Fire Company. They responded to 66 storm-related calls in 2 days, already doubling their usual call volume for the year. “This is rather unusual circumstances,” Molgard said. The storm-related calls were for emergencies such as fires, water rescues, and pumping water out of basements.
Berne, which is a town about 30 minutes away from the Saint Rose campus, experienced a fair amount of road and bridge damage. However, neighboring areas such as Schoharie and Middleburgh suffered more severe damage. “There was very serious flooding all around,” said Molgard.
Dr. Cailin Brown, another Associate Professor of Communications at Saint Rose, had no power on her street in the City of Albany from 6 a.m. on Sunday until 6 p.m. on Wednesday. A subcontractor truck for National Grid came all the way from Madison, Wisconsin to restore the power.
In response to the hurricane-related devastation that many have faced in and around Albany, various students spoke up about wanting to help. Father Chris DeGiovine, the Dean of Spiritual Life, put together a response committee, which includes various staff members, such as Ken Scott, the Director of Community Service, Dennis McDonald, the Vice President of Student Affairs, and community members who live in the hurricane-impacted areas. “This kind of decision to respond is something that we see happen at Saint Rose: Students that want to immediately help those in dire straits, and Saint Rose staff who get personally involved with them to make it happen.” said Scott.
McDonald forwarded an email from DeGiovine to students on Thursday, Sept. 1 that asked all those who would like to donate to bring their items/supplies to the library in the basement of the Hubbard Interfaith Sanctuary. The needed items listed in the e-mail are: “New blankets, flashlights and batteries, non-perishable and canned food items that can be easily opened, wet wipes, toiletries of all kinds (feminine products too), new shoes/boots, cat/dog food, bottled water, work gloves, baby food/formula, diapers, Depends, sanitary supplies, hand sanitizer, gift cards of all kinds (there is a Walmart in Cobleskill that people can access), phone cards, [and] cash.”
According to the e-mail, the items are being transported to Cobleskill (for the Schoharie and Middleburgh area), Windham, and Berne. The first load of supplies was taken out at 11 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 2 by Molgard and Saint Rose student Samantha Smith, due to the fact they are residents in the emergency zone.
“People will need all kinds of help and assistance for months just to survive,” said DeGiovine. “We had to try and help in any way we can.”
Teri Rogers, the Administrative Secretary for the Office of Spiritual Life, has been working on coordinating and collecting the supplies. While it is unknown exactly how many supplies have been donated thus far, a large amount of food, clothes, and monetary donations have been received by the Hubbard Interfaith Sanctuary. Donators have consisted of Saint Rose students, faculty and staff, and members of the local community. Many donators requested to be anonymous. “People just really want to help in any way they can, unselfishly,” said Rogers. “Many are offering to drive the donations to various locations using their own time and vehicles. The calls to the Hubbard Sanctuary have been overwhelming with people wanting to know how to help.”
Rachel Flynn, a first year graduate student at Saint Rose, came to the Hubbard Interfaith Sanctuary to help organize the supplies. “I hope that it holds them over, that they have the bare necessities to get them through this hard time.” said Flynn.
The Hubbard Interfaith Sanctuary will be accepting donations for victims of Hurricane Irene for the next couple of weeks.
