The city of Troy and Troy University experienced severe weather with thunderstorms on Monday and Wednesday, leading to partial or full class cancellations.
According to an email sent by Dean of Student Services Herbert Reeves on Monday, April 3, around 8 a.m., “Classes on the Troy University (Alabama) campuses will be canceled today at 12 noon; however, evening classes will continue to meet as scheduled.”
Students with classes scheduled before noon and after 5 p.m. on Monday were still required to go unless the class was canceled by the instructor.
Notifications were sent to students on Tuesday evening around 5 p.m. that all Alabama campuses would be closed on Wednesday, April 5, due to a “threat of severe weather.”
“On the Troy Campus, only essential staff are to report for work, and food services will be available,” the email administered by Clif Lusk, on behalf of Reeves, read.
Food service hours were posted online as well as emailed out to students on Wednesday at noon.
Trojan Dining was open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Moe’s from 11 a.m. to midnight, Herb’s Place from 8 a.m. to midnight, Chick-fil-A from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Einstein’s from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Trojan Center and Sartain Hall were available to off-campus students to take shelter.
According to Josh Johnson, chief meteorologist for WFSA, “a significant severe weather episode will likely unfold across Alabama Wednesday, bringing a risk of tornadoes, large hail and damaging wind gusts.”
An emergency information SOS notification was sent at 2 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. telling recipients that “Pike County is under a severe thunderstorm warning. Stay alert for rapidly changing weather conditions.”
According to the SOS website, a “safety alert may be triggered during inclement weather, crisis drills, and various emergency conditions.”
Sara Jo Burks, assistant director of housing and residence life, said that the housing staff had only been made aware of one incident as of 5 p.m. on Wednesday evening.
“Gardner (Hall) experienced the fire alarm being due to lightning,” Burks said. “The staff quickly checked and found no fire and was able to reset the alarm.”
According to the Weather Channel, Pike County was under a tornado watch until noon on Wednesday.
In addition to class cancellations, other events were also affected by the weather.
Motivational Speaker Chris “Shep” Shepherd was set to come to campus on Monday, April 3, but has been rescheduled for Monday, April 10, at 7 p.m. in the Trojan Arena.
Student Appreciation Day for Troy’s campus, originally designated for Wednesday, April 5, will be moved to Wednesday, April 19, according to associate history professor and Faculty Senate President Margaret Gnoinska.
Dollar Movie Night, sponsored by the University Activities Council, was postponed to Thursday night.
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