Administrative Offices and The Children's Center Closed (3/15/23)

Campus Announcement 3/15/23

Good morning,

Out of an abundance of caution, and sensitivity to the wide variety of challenges the weather has presented, we’ve decided to keep college administrative offices closed all day today, through 5 PM. Only essential personnel should report to work. The Children’s Center will also be closed today.

While Facilities achieved the nearly-impossible by clearing most campus roads and walkways overnight, the heavy and prolonged snowfall (a foot and a half locally; almost three feet in places like Savoy and Windsor) brought down numerous trees and power lines and left many area roads impassable.

Please emphasize safety in everything you do today. It’s great to be loyal to Williams, but even this place isn’t worth risking serious injury for.

Now here are details about today’s closure:

  • Administrative offices are closed.

  • The Children’s Center will also be closed.

  • We expect a return to normal operations later today. Staff with late afternoon or night shifts should contact your managers with any questions about reporting to work.

  • Staff who are able to work remotely are asked to please do so as much as reasonably possible today. We know you’re also dealing with the storm’s impact on your homes and lives, so thank you for doing your best within those limits.

  • Faculty colleagues, we know that the prolonged impact of this storm really complicates your teaching and exam plans, too. In the absence of a solution, I want to at least acknowledge those challenges. Thank you for figuring things out as best you can.

  • Students, keep watching your email for potential messages from your professors in case they need to change plans for today’s classes

  • As for Dining, Eco Café will be closed again today so that the Dining staff can focus on providing core meal service. Faculty House will also be closed.

And here’s some additional information specifically about electrical power:

  • Power was restored to almost all of campus by 1:30 AM. At that point we turned off the backup generators.

  • A few buildings still have limited or no power. Staff have placed glow sticks in their stairwells and halls for safety purposes. Please don’t mess with them.

  • Our regional energy supplier, National Grid, is working through an extensive list of outages and downed lines. They’ve forecast that our section of the grid is likely to remain unstable for most of today. Restoration is currently projected for 4 PM, but could easily be postponed depending on the severity and extent of needed repairs.

  • Meanwhile, if you see a downed or sagging wire around town, assume it’s live and stay far, far away. Many such wires have been marked with caution tape by now (e.g., on Southworth St.), but others might not be easily visible. Stay alert whenever you’re walking, driving or sliding.

That’s all for now. I’m sure we’ll be in touch again soon. In the meantime, take it slow and be cautious. Also, I want to offer one more massive thank you to all of the folks who are working to keep this place running under complicated circumstances. I’d offer to come help dig out campus myself, but I’m old and weak and it would just be embarrassing for all of us.

Stay safe,

Jim

 

Campus annoucement on 3/14

This has been a major storm for our area. I hope you’re safe and managing well under the circumstances. 

After accumulations of 1-2 feet or more, the National Weather Service in Albany has forecast that winds tonight could reach 60 mph. The combination of wet, heavy snow and high winds could bring down trees and cause further power outages. Already, many areas are without power or Internet, some secondary roads are closed, there have been accidents and even a few weather-related deaths. Safety is of utmost importance right now, and we strongly urge you to prepare.

Here’s a quick summary of the impact on Williams, followed by additional details, especially for students:

  • We’ll have a delayed administrative opening on Wednesday, starting at 10 AM. The Children’s Center is scheduled to open at 9:30 AM for drop-offs.
  • The inclement weather team will reconvene at 6:30 AM tomorrow to decide whether a full-day closure is necessary. We’ll announce a decision either way by 7:30 AM.
  • Anyone who can work remotely on Wednesday is strongly encouraged to do so, regardless. If you’d normally have that option but are unable due to power or Internet outages, please check with your supervisor about alternatives.
  • Staff, please don’t come to campus before the 10 AM open unless you’re essential personnel: the delay allows our Facilities colleagues enough time to do the huge job of clearing all that heavy snow.
  • Class schedules remain at the discretion of the instructor: students, continue to watch your email for potential announcements from your professors.

Also continue watching the Dining website for news about any impact on dining service or schedules.

Now, students, here’s what you need to know about the possibility of further power outages: 

First, and most importantly, if power does go out in your residence hall, we have a tiered system for taking care of you.

Most dorms, and the dining halls, on campus have backup generators that will provide sustained power in case of an outage, as happened today. Dorms that do not have backup generators include: 

  • Chadbourne 
  • Doughty 
  • Fort Hoosac
  • Milham
  • Poker Flats
  • Susan Hopkins
  • Tyler
  • Tyler Annex

Even in those dorms, if power goes out, the buildings will retain heat for many hours. If you’re asleep, you’re unlikely to notice a change. For this reason, we don’t plan to send a campus alert if power goes down in the middle of the night. 

However, if it stays down long enough to cause discomfort, we’ll move through an escalating list of options for those who live in dorms without backup generators. BTW, this includes students in co-ops and off-campus housing, if you lose power:

  1. You can stay with a friend living in a dorm that still has power.
  2. You can move to Paresky, which we’ll open as a warming center (we’ll announce this if it’s needed).
  3. We’d use open bed spaces in dorms with power for students who need them. You’d have to bring your own linens and basic personal effects. If you feel you need this option during an outage, please call CSS at 413-597-4444 and they’ll put you in touch with the Area Coordinator on call.
  4. In the most extreme scenarios (e.g., a multi-day outage), we’d open the Field House as a temporary campus shelter and offer to transport you there until power is restored. The Field House isn’t a fun place to live, so this would really only be a worst-case solution.
  5. We’d also shift any co-op residents and off-campus students onto the campus meal plan if you’re displaced from your home by an outage.

Again, look for a further update at about 7:30 AM tomorrow. In the meantime, stay indoors, keep windows and doors closed tight, and be especially alert to the effects of high winds and wind chill tonight. If you must go out, dress warmly, cover as much of yourself as possible, and move directly from Point A to Point B. 

Finally, take a moment to thank a member of the wide range of departments that have been working around the clock since last night to keep our campus safe and warm!

But really, it’s an excellent night to stay indoors and cozy up.

Finally, a HUGE thank you to all the folks who’ve been teaching, shoveling, plowing, cooking, serving, safety-ing and doing all the other work that there is to be done under crazy circumstances. 

Jim

 

Campus announcement on 3/13/23

The Albany office of the National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a Winter Storm Watch from 5 PM today through 8 AM Wednesday. Total accumulations could reach 6 to 12 inches locally, with up to 24 expected at higher elevations. Winds may reach 45 mph. Travel will be very difficult or impossible, and the combination of heavy snow and wind is likely to cause power outages across the region. 

Here are the details of the campus closure:

  • Administrative offices and units will be closed from midnight tonight until 5 PM Tuesday. We’ll continue to assess during the day Tuesday and will inform you if we decide to extend the closure beyond tomorrow evening.
  • The Children’s Center will also be closed tomorrow.
  • Staff who are able to work remotely during the closure are encouraged to do so. Please take home any equipment and materials you’ll need in order to do so, and update your voicemail and email auto-replies as necessary.
  • Faculty are encouraged to develop alternative plans for Tuesday classes in case you can’t get to campus. Students, please watch your email for any possible communications from your professors.
  • Check the Dining website for news about any impact on dining service or schedules. 
  • All College-sponsored travel for tomorrow has been canceled. If you have your own vehicle, please be mindful that driving will be extremely dangerous tomorrow. Many area roads are expected to be closed or impassable at the peak of the storm. No errand is worth a car accident: it can wait.

Now, let’s talk a little more about that power outage thing:

The risk of outages is considerable, given the combination of deep, heavy snow and high winds. Students, it’s important to prepare for the possibility that your dorms might lose power for some period of time. Here’s what to do to make sure you’ll be warm, safe and able to continue your schoolwork:

  • Close all dorm windows and doors now. It might be hot in your room at the moment, but as soon as the power goes out so will the heat. And then you’ll wish you’d kept all that nice toasty warm air on the inside. Don’t open them again during the outage, either, except doors as absolutely necessary to quickly enter or exit a building.
  • Charge all of your devices fully now and keep them charged just in case. 
  • The emergency signs at building exits and stairwells run on backup batteries and will continue to function during an outage. If the electricity stays off for long enough that the batteries run down, Facilities and CSS will deploy glow sticks for extra emergency lighting. These sticks aren’t toys and should be left where they’re placed.
  • If it gets chilly before the power comes back on, put on an extra sweater or sweatshirt. Wrap yourself in a sleeping bag and make a fashion statement. Cover yourself in lanolin and Saran Wrap. Whatever it takes: Layers = warm.
  • Finally, and this is important: candles and open flames are prohibited in college buildings, and this rule will be strictly enforced. 
  • In the event of an outage, the college will send you additional updates and instructions.
  • The ready.gov website is an excellent source of additional advice on how to prepare for severe winter weather, power outages and other hazards.

Again, since this is expected to be a prolonged storm we’ll continue to monitor conditions and may extend the administrative closure beyond 5 PM Tuesday, if necessary for people’s safety. We’ll let you know via email, and any such announcement will also be posted on the Human Resources website, local television station WTEN/News 10, and the college’s weather line (a/k/a the ICEY line) at 413-597-ICEY (597-4239). 

If you have questions regarding your specific circumstances, please contact your department head or any member of the Human Resources staff.

That’s it for now. There are no certainties in life, but this is very likely to be a major storm. Take precautions, plan ahead, and be ready to ride out or even enjoy the weather… safely.

Jim Reische, on behalf of the whole winter weather team:

Temesgen Araya, Director of Dining Services
Carrie Gagne, Director of the Williams College Children’s Center
Danielle Gonzalez, Chief Human Resources Officer
Amalio Jusino, Associate Director and Director for Emergency Management, Campus Safety Services
Jeanette Kopczynski, Associate Director of Dining Services
Dan Levering, Associate Director of Facilities Management
Eric Sullivan, Director of Campus Safety Services
Michael Wagner, Vice President for Finance & Operations, Treasurer
Alison Warner, Deputy Director for Operations, Campus Safety Services
Dave Waynick, Director of Administrative Services
Safa Zaki, Dean of Faculty, John B. McCoy and John T. McCoy Professor of Psychology