Although the full force of Hurricane Florence never reached as far inland as Greensboro, it would be daft to say its impact has not reached Guilford. With three days of class cancellations, Guilford was forced to make campus-wide decisions while balancing safety with the need to maintain a realistic academic calendar for students.

With assistance from Public Safety, Guilford administration was well-informed of conditions throughout the duration of the storm.

“Public Safety provided daily briefings to the President, President’s Cabinet and other staff including Facilities, Student Affairs, Dining Services and IT&S,” said Director of Public Safety William Anderson. “The briefings consisted of updated and current storm information, campus conditions, conditions reported around Greensboro, road conditions for those who might be traveling and any potential threats such as downed trees, flooding and possible power outages.”

During the storm, Public Safety was working to ensure the safety of those who remained on campus.

“Public Safety was open 24/7, doing normal patrols (with) beefed up staffing at peak periods, monitoring any potential concerns, responding to calls for service and meeting and responding to whatever needs arose,” Anderson said.

Thanks to the tireless efforts of Public Safety and Guilford College staff, the College successfully weathered the storm. Now, students and faculty must adjust to the shortened semester.

Although three days may not seem like a lot, the cancellations will certainly affect classes as they struggle to make up missed material.

“I will have to reduce the amount of material that we will cover by about a week,” said Glaxo Wellcome Professor of Physics Thom Espinola. “It’s material that will drop off the end of the class that we won’t get to.”

Although he was forced to cut material from his classes, Espinola is aware that Guilford administration was working in the best interest of students.

“They were worrying most about the safety of the students,” Espinola said. “They were more conservative, more safety-conscious than they have been in the past. Whether they were overly cautious, I don’t know, but I don’t have to make those decisions.”

Early College Student Jayraj Jonnalagadda is glad that administration acted in the way they did.

“It’s unfortunate we will be missing class material, but you can’t afford to take risks when you’re dealing with the possibility of a hurricane,” said Jonnalagadda.

Although Guilford College itself was not severely impacted by Hurricane Florence, administration hasn’t forgotten about those who were.

“The College has reached out to those who live along the coast and other areas that may have been affected by the storm to see if the College could be of assistance if needed,” Anderson said.

Although Guilford is seeking to provide substantial assistance to affected individuals, the recovery effort will always need more help. If you wish to assist those affected by Hurricane Florence, you can do so by visiting https://governor.nc.gov/donate-florence-recovery.