In the dark

entral Michigan University tried its best to keep students out of the dark.

This comment is not specifically referencing the university’s efforts to restore power to campus, but rather its attempts to keep its students informed and, more importantly, safe.

Nearly a full day without electricity is hard on students, many of whose daily routines require cell phones, computers or, at the very least, a warm shower.

The university seems to have acknowledged this. It’s challenging to fault the university for being in the middle of an unseasonable storm. However, critique may land on the university’s response: its ability to accommodate and communicate with students.

Despite some inevitable immediate disarray, during which there was a reasonable amount of time for the university to learn for itself what actually happened, CMU attempted to spread the word the best it could.

Dean of Students Bruce Roscoe e-mailed the student listserv. Resident assistants gathered their residents to spread any available information about the outage.

The dining commons’ efforts to provide food, even in the dark, were outstanding gestures, and reflect well on CMU’s care for its students.

Morning classes wisely were canceled the night of the storm, providing some time for the word to spread and for students to plan ahead.

However, for those not under the auspices of RAs or campus living, acquiring updates proved somewhat more challenging.

Roscoe’s e-mail, though informative, came to powerless apartments. When the majority of Isabella County’s power returned the next morning, CMU’s e-mail and Web site often were inaccessible.

CMU did the best it could with what it had. The challenge, then, lies in expanding its crisis-response tools, broadening its communicative efficacy.

This is a daunting task, but it is one the university should take seriously as it moves forward, full in the knowledge that one of its primary conduits of communication – the Internet – could be severed in less than one minute.

The university already has a number of tools at its disposal, including the CMU Information Line, 774-7500. A quick phone call could verify the university’s status.

CMU should draw more attention to its alternative response techniques, and increase efforts to increase student knowledge of them. A phone number is only if students know to call it.

Another option could be a CMU Really Simple Syndication crisis feed, a basic Web site accessible by cell phones that would provide quick updates.

When the room abruptly darkens, students’ first responses are, “What now?”

Fortunately, for most of them, CMU answered. Next time, it can answer for even more.