Freshmen joined together to combat tropical storm Harvey after Texas State administrators sent out emails regarding the Monday cancellation of classes and instructions to avoid Sewell park and other areas.
The administration handed out fliers with safety tips, but reports conditions varied between students depending on their dorm.
Frankie Childs, geology freshman, is housed at College Inn. Childs said his dorm hall experienced flooding and some power loss. Childs’ resident advisor instructed residents to avoid the elevators and to stay indoors.
“I’ve mainly been watching movies with friends and reading,” Childs said. “LBJ is closed and most of the places to get food are too.”
Commons Dining Hall provided food to on-campus residents. Augusta Pierce and friends allowed others to share their dorm which is in Laurel, close to Commons.
“We live right next to Commons Dining Hall so food has been readily available everyday, and I stocked up before the announcement of cancellations in anticipation of Harvey,”Pierce said. “Everyone, including me, has been hanging out on their dorms with friends and watching movies and Netflix. We sometimes even harbor people from other dorms because of the cross-campus walk they would have to make in this crazy weather.”
Although food was available, and safety instructions were issued, not all students on campus felt prepared enough by Texas State.
“I would say we haven’t been prepared at all by Texas State,” Pierce said. “They are still making sure we have the necessary resources, like food, available, but there wasn’t much that they did for students to warn them before the cancellation announcements.”
Jade Jones, exercise and sports science freshman, recently moved into Sterry Hall. Jones said the weather was an inconvenience, but she and her dorm were not concerned for their safety. Jones said she felt prepared on her own and was glad there were dining options.
“There have been very strong winds with sporadic rain fall,” Jones said. “It’s flooding everywhere. The dining halls have remained open, so I’ve been hitting up commons. I’ve mostly just been hanging with friends in dorm rooms. The emails from the school have helped me stay up to date on the storm. First day of classes got canceled, so that’s nice.”
Freshman reported that tropical storm Harvey posed as less of a danger to them than expected. Instead, they passed their time stuck inside to bond and get to know their new classmates.
Josh Narvaez, business management freshman, said he thought Texas State did all that was necessary and possible.
“The school sent out an email with tips on how to stay safe as well as many flyers being hung around the dorms with even more tips. Other than that I don’t think they could have prepared us for a hurricane,” Narvaez said. “Me and my pals stayed in my dorm and had a movie day/night. It was a great bonding experience since we all met this week so we really got to know each other better.”

Erika Conover contributed to this story