Storm Updates and Information

College news related to Hurricane Sandy will be posted here and on the college’s weather line, 413-597-4239 (ICEY), as well as communicated via email.

October 30, 2012

The college is open and all operations are normal today.

7:30 p.m., October 29, 2012

To the Williams Community,

Based on the latest forecasts, the plan for Tuesday is for all college operations, including the Children’s Center, to be open as usual. That assumes we avoid a long-term power outage. If one occurs, we’ll communicate with you again.

As always, any faculty or staff members who feel they may not be able to travel to campus safely should remain home.

Gusty winds are predicted through the early morning hours, so the smart thing for now is to hunker down.

Stay safe,
Adam Falk
President

 

6 p.m., October 29, 2012

Dear Students,

As the storm picks up, please be extra cautious to stay safe. Don’t go outside any more than necessary. If you need to move around campus, try to travel routes with the fewest trees.

We’ll be in touch again later in the evening with more information.

Thanks,

Dean Bolton

VP Klass

 

10 a.m., October 29, 2012

To the Williams Community,

Based on the latest weather predictions, we’ve decided for safety reasons to close the college today at 2:30 p.m.

That means no classes, meetings, or athletics practices. The libraries and athletics facilities will close. Non-essential personnel should leave then.

For students, Grab and Go will be open today until 2:30, and dining services will operate until 8 p.m. That means “late evening” will be closed.

If the situation changes in a way that prompts us to close earlier than 2:30 we’ll let you know by email and on the home page.

A decision about tomorrow will be made this evening.

Stay safe,
Adam Falk
President

 

More details about campus services today:

After 2:30. dining and mail operations will operate as follows.

·      Grab and Go options at Paresky and Eco Café will be available until 2:30pm.

·      Dinner will be served until 8pm at Mission, Whitmans’, and Driscoll.

·      All dining operations will end at 8pm until tomorrow. (No late night food service.)

·      All catered events are being canceled.

·      Jessica Park Mailroom will close at 2:30pm and intercampus mail will stop at this time.

The Health Center will close at 2:30 pm. In an emergency, call 911.  For other health concerns of an urgent nature that cannot wait until Health Center reopens, call 597-4567 to access the on-call physician line for recommendations.

For other on campus emergencies contact Campus Safety and Security at 597-4444.   The Dean’s office remains open until 2:30 for academic and personal concerns.

If power goes out or other services are interrupted, we will contact you through email and phone via the ConnectEd system with additional information.

We ask you to act with caution when outdoors late this afternoon and evening, as the wind is expected to pick up and sustain at high speeds overnight.

 

October 28, 2012

Message for Faculty and Staff

As you probably know, Hurricane Sandy is making its way up the East Coast and is expected to bring potentially damaging winds and heavy rain beginning Monday afternoon and continuing through Tuesday morning. While we can’t know what its impact will be on the college and surrounding community, we’re monitoring the storm’s progress carefully and preparing for possible effects, including flooding and widespread or long-lasting power outages.

Campus will be open tomorrow morning, and classes will be held. As with any impending weather emergency, faculty and non-essential staff who feel it would be unsafe for them to travel to campus should stay home. In conjunction with the closing of local public schools, the Williams College Children Center will be closed tomorrow.

We will monitor the developing situation closely. Should we decide to close campus, or implement further emergency operations, we’ll let you know immediately via email and the college’s homepage.

If you have an emergency, call campus security at 413-597-4444.

Regards,
Adam Falk
President

 

Message for Students

As you know, there is a significant hurricane on the East Coast of the U.S. that is expected to make landfall and move westward over the course of the next few days. At the moment, that storm is expected to begin to affect Williamstown tomorrow, Monday, October 29th, and to be strongest in our area from Monday afternoon through midday Tuesday.  We are keeping close track of the storm so that we can make our best predictions of what to expect at the College.

We are working closely with Campus Safety, Residential Life, Dining Services, Facilities, and many others to make sure that everyone here is safe and well cared for throughout the storm and afterward. In particular, we have food stocked and will be able to prepare meals for the duration, even if power goes out.

Campus will be open tomorrow morning, and classes will be held. We will continue to track the storm closely and will know more later in the morning about what to expect and when.

We’ll send out another email tomorrow to let you know whether there are any changes in class schedules, dining locations, or related matters. Should we experience a widespread power outage, we will communicate with the campus community via our emergency notification system, ConnectED.  You can check on PeopleSoft to be sure that your cell phone contact information is correct to ensure that you’ll receive these updates via phone in addition to email. It would a good idea to charge your cell phones and computers overnight.

If you have specific questions about academic or personal matters, please contact the Dean’s Office. You will also be able to check for updates on College operations on the College website. In the meantime, if you have an emergency, call Campus Safety at 413-597-4444.

Regards,

Sarah Bolton, Dean of the College and Professor of Physics
David Boyer, Director of Campus Safety and Security
Steve Klass, Vice President for Campus Safety

 

October 26, 2012

Dear Faculty and Staff,As you’re probably aware, remnants of Hurricane Sandy could hit our area sometime between the end of this weekend and the middle of next week.We learned from last year’s Tropical Storm Irene that it’s smart for the campus to prepare for potentially severe weather, so that’s what we’re doing.If we believe that the storm will disrupt any college operations, we’ll be back in touch with detailed information.Regards,
Steve Klass
Vice President for Campus Life