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On Tuesday, Jan. 16, severe winter storms across Arkansas delayed the start of ATU’s spring semester and left its residents stuck in place. The storms also caused damage to many of the roads and utilities on campus, causing further complications.
After canceling classes on Tuesday, ATU pivoted to virtual classes until Friday, Jan. 19 and adjusted their academic calendar to keep the semester on track. The campus also pivoted to virtual classes on Jan. 22 due to a second ice storm, returning to normal operations the following day.
However, the unusual start to the semester posed an impact on student learning. One student that was heavily affected by this was Dalton Tate, a sophomore majoring in information technology and security from Judsonia, Arkansas.
“We went an entire week virtual, and, with it being the start of classes, it threw things off track where all my classes are about a week behind…” Tate said. “So, we have to double our work while in class to catch up.”
According to multiple students, nearby roads and parking lots were covered with a dangerous amount of snow and ice, making any attempts to traverse the campus risky.
“I think they made a good decision in shutting down campus for those couple of days,” especially when considering the possible devastating consequences of asking students to be on treacherous roads” Lindsey Lemly, a senior majoring in animal science from Siloam Springs, said.
During the virtual period, Facilities Management for ATU, also known as FAMA, worked through Martin Luther King Jr. Day to repair and defrost the campus.
“When the campus is closed, my team doesn’t get to stay home. We get to come to work, myself included,” Drew Dickey, FAMA director, said. “I have at least one team member on campus every single day, twice a day. So Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, we’re here…”
According to Dickey, their main priority was to ensure that all walkways leading from the residence halls to Baz-Tech, the cafeteria, and the library were clear and safe.
“They would get up early at like 6:00 or 7:00 in the morning just to go ahead and try to make campus as safe as possible and do what they could while trying to stay healthy because, again, it’s under twenty degrees.” Alona Flenory, a senior speech major from Hope, Arkansas, said.
While many students expressed a positive opinion of the campus leadership and FAMA’s handling of the storms, there were also students that had issues with how things were handled.
“I mean, we could always do something a little better. I’m not going to sit here and say we were perfect by any stretch of the imagination,” Dickey said. “But if you look at this storm compared to the last storm and compared to the storm before that, we’ve had three back-to-back years of really challenging inclement weather.”
According to Katelynn Randall, a senior majoring in art education from Ozark, Arkansas, FAMA provided a lackluster response when many of the heaters and air conditioning units on the first floor of Tucker Hall broke down.
“We have no heating or air in our dorm. We just keep the window open at this point,” Randall said.
She also stated that, while FAMA had given residents space heaters and promised to replace the heating and A.C. units, residents had not seen any updates on the situation past the initial response.
While Dickey said that there was room for improvement, he also stated that he and his team record every incident so that they can better respond to familiar breakages and deal with new ones.
“I would like to be on the record saying that I’m really proud of my team and they worked really, really hard those three days, even on a state holiday that forced everyone to be home. I didn’t have to ask. I didn’t have to beg people to come in. My team was here.”
He also stated that if any students were frustrated with maintenance issues, either due to the winter storm or otherwise, he can be reached at his email address, mdickey1@atu.edu.
