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The Night Isabel Passed Through Hampton

Photo credit: Talia Buford Hurricane force winds uprooted a tree near Lot Nine at Hampton University, causing it to shatter the rear window of a parked vehicle during the storm.

By Daarel Burnette II
Black College Wire

Two weeks have passed since Hurricane Isabel hit Hampton University. Professors are finally getting back on track with their syllabi, rescheduling tests, quizzes and assignments while students struggle back to their academic personas. The roof shingles and withered leaves have been swept up and the white paper tape strapped across campus windows has been scraped off. The power has finally seeped back into all 110 buildings on campus, while the last few blown-over trees have been chopped up and carried away.

It�s a very different scene from the night after Isabel passed through.

Hampton �looked like a bomb had hit it," said Todd Williamson, junior broadcast major from Atlanta.

Physical plant employees worked around the clock, some working up to 16-hour shifts, rebuilding a campus once known for its immaculate scenery.

The hurricane, which stretched 400 miles, brought fast winds, sideswiping rain, high waves and tornadoes up and down the East Coast on Sept. 18 and 19.

At Hampton, Isabel caused widespread damage, flooding homes and knocking out power for more than a million households.

According to the Daily Press of Hampton Roads, Hampton city officials estimate that by the time they pick up all the debris, they�ll have enough to cover 55 football fields � piled nine feet high.

On Sept. 16, students casually walked to classes chatting on their cell phones. Many felt that the likelihood of a category 2 hurricane approaching in less than 48 hours was very slim.

Catherine Leverette, a freshman nursing major from Atlanta, said she wasn�t nervous about Isabel, which she called a mere tropical storm.

"I definitely haven�t let it consume my thoughts," she said before heading to the drug store to get some extra water and batteries in case of a power outage.

Meanwhile, Hampton�s neighbors quickly executed evacuation plans.

The Veteran Affairs Medical Hospital in Hampton, which shares the peninsula with HU, began relocating its 277 patients and 151 staff members.

Photo credit: Talia Buford The Olin Engineering Building withstood harsh winds and rain.

"We evacuated because of the low-line area and projected path of the storm," said Jenny Tankersley, the public affairs director. "We also predicted water surges of up to 10 feet."

Christopher Newport University in Newport News cancelled classes after noon on Tuesday and instructed all residents to evacuate their dorms no later than noon on Wednesday, according to the public relations office.

Unlike Christopher Newport, which has mostly local residents, Hampton could not force students off campus because a large number are from out of state.

At 6 p.m. Tuesday, the administrative council, which had been meeting twice a day compared with their usual once a week, announced that that classes would be cancelled beginning noon Wednesday, but that residence halls would remain open.

Many, including Student Government Association President Lindell Toombs, questioned closing school in the middle of the day.

"I wish they would have cancelled school all day Wednesday so students could leave Tuesday night," Toombs said. Late Tuesday night, students crowded in the library, frantically searching the Internet for tickets back home. The fear of being stuck on campus during a hurricane moved across campus as people realized how serious the storm could be.

Wednesday�s weather didn�t look like a hurricane was nearby. The sun shone and the birds chirped while Peninsula residents deserted the area, jamming I-64 West in the process.

Residents who wanted to weather the storm planned for the worst. Grocery stores quickly ran out of emergency supplies and businesses boarded their windows to battle the storm�s predicted 100-mph winds.

Back at Hampton, students stood on corners waiting for taxis to the airport or train station. For other students, going home wasn�t realistic. Marisha Copeland, sophomore biology major from Houston, desperately wanted to go back home.

"It�s just not realistic," she said after searching for tickets on the Internet. "Tickets are, like, $300."

For students like Copeland who couldn�t get home, Hampton transformed the Holland Hall gymnasium into a shelter area, lining hundreds of mattresses and box springs across the gym floor, separating males and females.

Holland Hall�s large size and the fact that it is one of few buildings on campus above sea level made it the "most appropriate," according to Jonathan Mangana, director of student activities.

La Joy Williams, a sophomore psychology major from Austin, Texas, agreed. "I feel safer here than anywhere else," she said.

Other students, such as Cedric Myles, freshman architecture major from Memphis, weren�t so pleased with the facility, complaining about shower facilities and the cooped-up environment.

"It could have been worse," Myles said. "But it could have been better."

On Wednesday night, 1,200 homeless students, plus the dean of men, dean of women dean of students, the director of student activities, dorm directors and some resident assistants, packed inside the gym.

Not expecting such a large number of students, the staff ran out of mattresses, forcing some students to sleep on mats and benches.

Late that night, students played board games and watched movies on the big-screen projector. A miniature Academic Technology Mall was set up so that students could have access to the Internet. School counselors and nurses from the infirmary were on hand.

Gourmet Food Services constructed buffet lines in the hallways.

Courtney Maynard wasn�t expecting Gourmet Food services to provide such good service. "I look at [the cafe workers] in a whole new light now," said the junior psychology major from Queens, N.Y.

While students chowed down on chicken and rice, macaroni and cheese, green beans and sweet rolls, Isabel slowly crept onto land.

Thursday morning, winds suddenly picked up on campus. The James River climbed over the waterfront, creeping all the way up to the fence in front of Memorial Chapel. Wind ripped through Olin Hall�s entrance, blowing pink insulation across the grass. Trees on campus were plucked from the soil. A tree crashed through the roof of acting president Dr. JoAnn Haysbert�s house on Queen Street. The crash startled but didn�t injure any of the people inside.

For the people locked inside Holland for safety precautions, the storm�s strength was not evident until a large glass window shattered next to a group of students. Nobody was seriously hurt. After the storm�s passing, live wires dangled from buildings and trees continued to snap.

Photo credit: Talia Buford A stop sign was embedded in a tree outside of Clark Hall.

Students were locked inside Holland for safety precautions all day Thursday while the Hampton police department surveyed the campus. Suddenly, a bad case of cabin fever spread through Holland. Although no fights broke out, Holland Hall residents got restless; they wanted out.

So the staff made a way.

On Friday afternoon, the Student Center was up and running �- by generator, of course. The fitness center and game room were opened while others danced to old-school records played by New Face Entertainment.

Hampton remained powerless until 7 p.m. Monday, when the majority of the campus lit up. The north side of campus, including five dorms, remained without power, but the university still held classes Tuesday morning.

Students who lived in dorms without power had the option of staying in Holland Hall, although many went to live with friends off campus.

In hindsight, the administrative council said that Hampton�s execution of the evacuation was "exemplary," according to dean of students and council member Dr. Bennie McMorris.

"I think the staff could have kept us better informed about what was going on," said Tatiana Anderson, a sophomore political science major.

Before the storm, the administration made numerous requests for students and their families to check the Internet for constant updates, although Internet service was down in the dorms.

Mangana, the director of student activities, said he would have brought more movies had he known there was going to be the opportunity to show them.

And the assistant director of the physical plant, Carlos Irizarry, spoke of the need for power generators in the cafeteria, which he described as the "heart and soul of working young men and women."

According to Leander Hill, assistant director of Gourmet Food Services, a good portion of meat was lost due to spoilage during the power outage.

On Sept. 23, disgruntled students slowly headed back to classes in the rain, maneuvering around piles of branches and leaves left from the storm.

The battle with Isabel was fought and won, but a new challenge awaited Hampton: getting back to normal.

Daarel Burnette II is a student at Hampton University who is campus editor of The Hampton Script. Staff writer Natasha Hicks contributed to this story.

Posted Oct. 6, 2003