Campus left in the dark after power outage

By: Dustin Looney
Features Editor

At approximately 8 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24, the entire city of Monmouth, including the Monmouth College campus, lost all power. Students were forced to live without electricity, and nobody was certain when the power would return. Students were instructed to stay in their dormitories and remain calm.

Each head resident and resident assistant was directed by administration officials to keep his or her residents inside to avoid the possibility of looting and rioting.

In Cleland Hall, a lockdown of sorts was put into effect and all residents were forced to stay inside the dorm. Students from all halls were told they could not leave for their own safety and if they were caught outside, security would force them to go back to their residence hall.

The power outage was not just an issue for Monmouth College, as the entire town of Monmouth and even parts of Galesburg were also without power. However, it is not certain whether the residents of Monmouth and Galesburg were required to stay in their homes.

The dilemma was weather-related, as most power outages are, and was a result of the uncommon ice storm which swept across the Midwest. The ice was so thick it coated telephone poles and electric lines, affecting the electrical system and preventing power transmission.

Monmouth College has emergency lights in the halls of all buildings, with power supplied by generators, but they did not last long on this occasion. By midnight, every dorm had no light, no heat and no power of any sort. Students had to endure a Saturday night without television, video games, the Internet or hot water for a shower. Be cause of the campus-wide ban on candles, students could not even emulate Abe Lincoln and study their books by candlelight.

Monmouth College did not regain power until mid-afternoon on Sunday, Feb. 25. Although some neighboring areas were powerless for much longer than Monmouth College, the town of Monmouth itself actually received power before the campus.

Monmouth College was caught unprepared for this situation and, as a result, is planning to invest in some equipment to better prepare for future similar catastrophes.

According to Don Gladfelter, vice president for finance and business, Monmouth College will likely purchase a few small generators to recharge the emergency light system batteries, and possibly a larger generator which would be able to sustain the Stockdale Center as its own entity in case another blackout occurs later. Rumors surrounding the purchase of new radios and flashlights for resident assistants for future blackouts could not be confirmed by Gladfelter.

One hopeful positive side effect which may result from the power outage is the realization by many Monmouth College students that maybe we take our readily-available energy for granted. Many students were baffled at how to occupy themselves on this lonely Saturday night.

They were forced to abstain from playing video games and watching television for the night and some students were actually known to socialize with other residents in their hall, promoting a certain degree of camaraderie. Some may have even discovered the lost art of intelligent conversation.

The question became whether electricity may, in fact, be as corruptive to our world as it is beneficial.

“I thought the power outage provided a time to relax for a lot of students,” junior Dan Walker of Springfield, Ill., said. “Whenever I thought about an assignment that was due, I couldn’t work on it anyway—so why worry?”

When it was all said and done, however, a warm shower was enjoyed with a new sense of appreciation on Sunday afternoon, and students at Monmouth College were very happy to have their normal lifestyle back.