Finals and ice at K-State

Thursday, December 13th, 2007

“I haven’t had a shower in three days,” shivered one coed as she plugged in her cell phone recharger and sat down to take a final Wednesday.

Like many students, faculty and staff in the college, she had been without electricity since a storm Monday covered the area with up to an inch of ice. Many are still without power Thursday as finals week winds down and semester break begins.

For some, icy weather meant sticking around until Saturday. Downed tree limbs littered the campus and streets looked like ice rinks, forcing officials to close the university on Tuesday. Exams originally scheduled for Tuesday were moved to Friday evening and Saturday.

The student union was transformed into a shelter, offering space for sleeping bags, computers and television. Hot showers are available at the recreation center. K-State has limited emergency generator capabilities.

Westar Energy officials expect some outages to last until Dec. 22 or longer. As of Thursday morning, more than 12,000 remained without power in Manhattan. Riley County is believed to be one of the hardest-hit counties in the state, according to the Manhattan Mercury. Public schools have been closed since Wednesday.

The common greeting in Justin Hall remains “Do you have power?”

Snow is forecast for Friday night.

Photos: Jane P. Marshall

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 13th, 2007 and is filed under Dean's Blog.