This past weekend, Westmont was hit with a rough rainstorm which led to the cancellation of classes on Monday. All of us received an email that conveyed this information, but few of us knew what led up to that decision and also how other professors and students reacted to the storm.
The email and information was sent out by Jason Tavarez, the Director of Institutional Resilience, here at Westmont. Jason’s role is crucial for our campus especially in times of natural disasters and other unexpected events. He communicates with Campus Safety, Human Resources, the Physical Plant and many other groups that are involved in ensuring the best response to these kinds of emergencies including the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management. Through a series of meetings from Wednesday to Friday, the decision to cancel classes was made. So how did professors and students respond?
Dr. Chapman, a history professor, reflects, “It was easy for me as we were about to watch a documentary in my Monday class.” For many others, professors provided material that students would be held accountable for in exams, but evidently did not hold classes. Besides academic work, there were bigger issues at hand. For many students, getting around campus was difficult and all of the sudden, the walk to the DC required far more energy and effort. First year student, Madi Crawford, reflects, “The weekend was nice for rest, but realistically, the rain storm made day to day errands ten times more difficult.” On the flip side, for Professor Chapman, he had a bigger challenge than adjusting lecture plans. He had discovered that one of the drains at his home was not working. “So, I along with my wife and Dr. Haines,” Professor Chapman recalls, “spent some of Sunday evening after our Capax Dei group bailing water from a puddle that was threatening to invade our garage!”
Despite these inconveniences, some students took advantage of the rain to enjoy a game of ultimate frisbee. Others made slip and slides. Rain is a blessing for California residents especially in Santa Barbara. In this case, rain also gave students, faculty and staff an extra day to rest. Professor Chapman describes his experience to be a good memory: “Just as good was figuring out the following morning that the powers of physics could drain our puddle quickly and easily with the help of a simple siphon from our garden hose.” Luckily this past weekend went by smoothly and no harm was done. Yet, mud slides, flooding and accidents are prone to happen in these events. Jason recommends, “Students should always have a ‘go-bag.’ A bag they can take right away in events where evacuation is necessary.” He encourages students to be diligent in checking emails and news for action in events of storms, fires and other emergencies.
