By Madison Wilson, Contributing Writer
On September 25, in a press release, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in all 67 counties and activated the State Emergency Operations Center at level one.
On Wednesday morning, hours before Hurricane Ian was supposed to hit Florida’s Gulf Coast, “at least 2.5 Floridians were under some type of evacuation order as Hurricane Ian rapidly intensified to an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane,” according to Fox Weather.
Most of the locals had taken heed and headed away from the south Florida area or had relocated to a hurricane shelter.
The air across the Tampa Bay area was intensifying as the city seemed to be right in the eye pathway of the hurricane.
Here in the quiet countryside of Saint Leo University, most of the students—both United States locals or international students, had evacuated in some way.
A statement from St. Leo University read, “In preparation for Hurricane Ian, the Saint Leo University Emergency Management Team plans to activate the university’s shelter locations tomorrow afternoon for all students residing on campus during the storm. Students will be assigned to one of three shelter locations: the Marion Bowman Activities Center, Saint Edward Hall, or Lewis Hall.”
However, though some students evacuated to their homes within the United States or abroad, there remained some students who did not evacuate for their own reasons.
“I chose to stay because I was having difficulty in finding a place off campus to go to,” said Justin Wallace-Jean, a freshman majoring in marketing.
While some students were able to spend time with family during such a difficult time, others had no choice but to stay at the shelters and make it work.
“I didn’t have anywhere to go,” said Jaiden Adderly, a sophomore majoring in sports business.
“I chose to stay on campus because it would be too much of a hassle to go back home due to high ticket prices,” said Brianna Pratt, a freshman majoring in biology.
“My hometown is three hours away, it was easier to stay on campus,” said Baindu Freeman, a freshman majoring in biochemistry.
I was placed in Saint Edward Hall due to me being a freshman.
Students staying on campus were told to “bring the following with them into the shelters: one pillow and blanket, a small overnight bag or backpack with clothes, necessary medication, and personal hygiene products, one personal electronic item (such as a laptop or tablet) and emotional support animals must be created and are kept in a separate building.”
When I arrived at the shelter, I had to check in and had a band placed around my wrist that I couldn’t take off. I had to find a spot on the floor and that would be my home until we were cleared to leave.
The floor was cold and hard, but students had to make it work.
“My experience was okay, but I wish it was better and I wish that they made it more comfortable for us students,” said Pratt.
There were students sleeping in hallways, close to stairs, near classrooms, all laid out on the floor.
While being in the shelter, I observed some students making the best of it, having the time of their lives, while others were waiting for the storm to pass so they could go back to their normal lives.
“My experience was very interesting and fun,” said Wallace-Jean.
During the time in the shelters on campus, most students were either interacting with each other, using their phones, or sleeping.
“It was in between good and bad,” said Adderly.
Everyone was just waiting for the hurricane to pass so that they could go back to the comfort of their beds and back to the way things were.
“It was okay,” said Freeman.
Looking through the windows, it was just a lot of wind and a lot of rain. The hurricane didn’t hit as hard as most of us thought it would.
When it was cleared for students to leave the shelters, everyone was excited and eagerly headed back to their dorms to get rest. Outside was windy with rain, trees and bushes were comfortably occupying the campus grounds.
When students were asked if, faced with this situation again, they would rather leave or stay at the shelters, Adderly, Wallace-Jean, Pratt, and Freeman all agreed that they would all leave.
While most students had an option to leave, some didn’t. These students were left with the only choice to stay at a shelter with other students where they were sure they would be protected, as it turns out everyone was. This to me was one of the best and most important aspects about being in the shelters at Saint Leo.
