FYI From: Peterson, Carolyn [mailto:cpeterson@SHAWU.EDU] Sent: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 11:17 AM To: Sandra Phoenix; 'relippard@barton.edu' Subject: RE: Destruction on Campus Brings End to Semester HI Sandra and Friends! Thank you so much for your call. Unfortunately, we were without power until late yesterday evening. My computer was destroyed when a very huge oak tree crashed through the window of my office and when the winds took over, everything was pretty much destroyed --- papers, reports, etc that I had been working on for the upcoming SACS review blew away. I just received a another computer this morning, but they forgot to bring a keyboard and one of the Shift keys came off this one during the tornado. (see tornado photos on our website) I came to campus Saturday after receiving a phone call telling me that my office was destroyed. Glass was everywhere, ceiling tiles blew out and I even need another desk chair. Thank you again for your calls and emails. We are struggling to gradually get everything back together. We are blessed that our lives were spared; I wasn't at work that day, and I usually work on Saturdays. I am very thankful to God for his goodness and for sparing all of us. The students have left because the student union which houses the cafeteria was totally destroyed - the entire second floor of the student union looks like someone shredded it. The dorms are heavily damaged, windows blown out etc. Some of the students were having dinner at the time the tornado hit, but fortunately there were no injuries. Many offices were badly damaged. I offered the use of the library for as much as we can handle. If you know of anyone who has a couple of nice office desk chairs, please let me know. We now need at least three. We had three black leather desk chairs with handles that were damaged and cannot be used. Again, thank you again for your prayers and concerns. It's good to know that so many of our library friends are so encouraging and supportive. You don't know how wonderful that makes us feel. Thank you again. Have a great Easter holiday! Sincerely, Carolyn Peterson Director of Library Services Shaw University Raleigh, North Carolina 27601 (919) 582-3750 From: hbcu-libadmin-bounces@lists.hbculibraries.org [mailto:hbcu-libadmin-bounces@lists.hbculibraries.org] On Behalf Of Sandra Phoenix Sent: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 8:17 AM To: Hbcu-libadmin@lists.hbculibraries.org Cc: Hbcu-lib@lists.hbculibraries.org Subject: Destruction on Campus Brings End to Semester New York Times April 18, 2011 Destruction on Campus Brings End to Semester By Sarah Wheaton Instead of cramming for finals, students at the South's oldest historically black college were cramming their belongings into hastily bought tubs from Wal-Mart after a tornado forced an abrupt departure from their dormitories and, in some cases, an early end to their college years. The whirlwind<http://www.flickr.com/photos/shawu/sets/72157626524015806/> churned up uncertainty at Shaw University, in Raleigh, N.C., as some students wondered whether they would be able to graduate in the short term and others tried to fathom how the college would rebuild. One of the tornadoes that tore through Wake County on Saturday was actually at a weak point when it lashed together fallen trees in front of Shaw's modernist bell tower, blew the roof off the student center and rendered two of the four dormitories uninhabitable. "It literally looked like a scene out of Hurricane Katrina<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/h/hurricane_katrina/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier>," said Aeriel Sanders, an English major. Officials decided to close Shaw indefinitely. The university, a private Baptist institution, was founded in 1865. Veterans and observers of school closings praised Shaw's president, Irma McClaurin, for quick decision-making and expressed confidence that the university would survive. Some students cheered the early vacation. But the news prompted more anxiety for others. Some seniors were upset that they would not have the opportunity to improve their grade point averages with final exams and projects. Others wondered whether to apply for graduate school or participate in commencement, which was still scheduled for May 7. But anxiety began to subside by Monday afternoon as professors began responding to e-mail, and the university said it was putting together a Web site to help students contact instructors. Shaw officials were still assessing the damage Monday, and it remained unclear when classes would resume. "The decision is expected to be made within a week about how summer school will be conducted," Sherri Fillingham, a communications official, said in an e-mail. "Then we rebuild." Scott S. Cowen, the president of Tulane University<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/t/tulane_university/index.html?inline=nyt-org>, said Shaw's situation was "like déjà vu." Mr. Cowen saw Tulane, in New Orleans, through its five-month closing after Hurricane Katrina, which was followed by a sweeping overhaul. "When you have an event like this happen, you have to think, 'Can we come back the way we were before, or is there a new future for us?' " Mr. Cowen said. Shaw's devastation came just a year after a $31 million loan to refinance the university's debt forestalled a financial crisis. Students, who protested in recent years to demand better dining and living conditions, saw an opportunity for major improvements, especially at the Willie E. Gary Student Center. "I'd rather see it be rebuilt from scratch so it can be more state of the art, because it's kind of old," said Jason Royal, a senior business management major. "We wanted more up-to-date equipment like we were seeing at other schools." SANDRA M. PHOENIX Program Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 404.592.4820 Skype:sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree Street NW Suite 200 Atlanta, GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (Lyrasis) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.