"Campus Safety and senior administration are monitoring Hurricane Irma advisories closely and are preparing response measures should the Upstate and Wofford College be impacted. Current models have the storm impacting the Upstate early next week; these models can change over the next few days.
We encourage all students, faculty and staff to:
• Monitor Hurricane Irma through local news stations and/or NOAA.org. (The Weather Channel can be found on Channel 032 on Wofford-connected TVs.)
• Ensure that you have updated your Rave Mobile Alert account with your cell phone number to ensure you will receive any text alerts regarding the local weather and any campus news, such as cancelations or delays. (Log in through myWofford using your Wofford login and password; contact Laura Corbin at laura.corbin@wofford.edu or 864-597-4180 if you have problems or questions.)
• Students:
o While food service will be available on campus, hours and locations may be limited, therefore you are encouraged to purchase non-perishable foods and water.
o You should have working flashlights and batteries on hand; do not burn candles during power outages because of the potential for fires.
o Keep your cell phones and computers charged; if you don’t already have one, consider purchasing an external battery charger.
o Fill your vehicle with gasoline before Monday.
o If your vehicle is parked in an area with a number of trees, you are encouraged to move it to another location, such as the parking lot on Cumming Street across from the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.
o Make sure you have an ample supply of any prescription medications you need.
o Local/regional resident students are encouraged to inform their residence assistants if they decide to go home.
o Students who live in the areas expected to receive the most impact from Hurricane Irma – especially the South Carolina and Georgia coastal areas and South Carolina Midlands – are encouraged NOT to travel home this weekend due to the potential for traffic jams; Gov. McMaster likely will issue a mandatory evacuation order of the coastal areas beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, and I-26 lanes will be reversed to head out of that area.
Decisions on class schedule changes or closures at Wofford will be made as more is known about the path of the hurricane, the anticipated weather conditions and when those may occur in the Upstate. The storm may impact food services on campus as well.
We will provide updates to the campus community as these decisions are made.
Should emergency situations occur, you will be notified via Rave Mobile Alert by email and/or cell phone.
As always, in cases of emergencies, contact Campus Safety at 864-597-4911. "