W&M Asks Students, Staff to Prepare For Earl

By Amber Lester Thursday, September 02, 2010

In anticipation of severe storm conditions, The College of William & Mary is asking students to stay home tonight.

Emergency Management Team Chair Anna Martin sent a memo to the campus just after noon today detailing plans in the event Hurricane Earl sweeps over the Historic Triangle tonight and early Friday morning. Recent weather forecasts were predicting 40 miles-per-hour winds and moderate rainfall.

All buildings except residence halls will be closed at 11 p.m. tonight, and students are asked to remain in their residences between midnight and 7 a.m., at which point they’ll know whether classes will go on as scheduled. Essential personnel will report to campus at 7:30 a.m. Friday.

Faculty and staff are asked to turn off computers and other equipment that would be sensitive to power fluctuations. In addition, all research experiments powered by electricity will be shut down. Anyone seeking exceptions is asked to contact Eric Bradley at elbrad@wm.edu.

For now, the college plans to open on time Friday, with no changes to normal class, dining or bus schedules.

To track the college’s updates, click here.