Isaac Moves In But Students Don’t Move Out

Photo By Samantha Battersby

Hurricane Isaac has been the center of the news for days, and varying information has been given on whether Isaac will turn into a hurricane and if Tampa will be directly hit by the storm.

With the threat of rain and strong winds, University of Tampa students and professors have been wondering (and some hoping) that classes would be canceled. The RNC is already posing a problem for commuter students, faculty and staff with roads being closed. With the added rain, possible flooding and strong winds, the traffic will be an absolute nightmare.

In the tropical weather updates posted on ut.edu, the Emergency Operations Team stated Sunday that “The Tampa Bay region is expected to experience fairly heavy rains and some tropical storm strength winds.” Yet they decided that UT should remain open today, Monday, Aug. 27.
What I don’t understand is how we are the only school in the Tampa Bay area that has classes still in session. Public schools and offices are all closed today in the Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Polk, Hernando, Sarasota, Manatee, DeSoto, Hardee and Highlands’s counties. USF and all its campuses are closed as well as Hillsborough Community College, Barry and Rasmussen College, according to an ABC Action News article. Even universities far from the Tampa Bay area and across Florida are closed like Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, though they had a weather forecast of sunshine yesterday. While we on the other hand, who are located by the bay and rivers and are in closer proximity to Isaac, are deemed safe to be open. Can I just say, “Wtf, UT?”

To be fair, waking up this morning, I do not see the haling winds and storm that was predicted and so forewarned. Isaac changed its course last minute and is now heading hundreds of miles west of Tampa toward the Gulf of Mexico and Louisiana. However, today is a dreadful grey day that will definitely hold a lot of rain and may cause flooding from two to five feet on certain roads from high tide. It’s not the kind of weather resident students and commuters rejoice for. Yet, we must suffer through it while almost every other school around us is closed and their students can stay safely indoors.

“The decision was made after considering all the available information, including but not limited to governmental sources and the National Hurricane Center,” said Linda Devine, VP of Operations and Planning. “Over the past two days, Isaac began moving farther west, and the weather experts observed that Tampa would likely receive periodic rain and gusty winds. Opening classes on time seemed like a reasonable risk, and we knew that most if not all professors had already prepared to deliver content via Blackboard if needed as part of RNC preparations.”

So as students head to class, they will have to hustle through the rain in their raincoats and boots and brave through the wind under their umbrellas. Unless of course they are one of the lucky ones whose professors deemed it wise to cancel class today, as some have done.
UT didn’t let a silly old thing like the RNC stop them from commencing a new semester of educating young minds. And it seems like a little bit of rain, possible flooding and 30 mph wind won’t stop them either.

Paola Crespo can be reached at paola.crespo@theminaretonline.com