Vice President for Student Affairs, Joe Paul announced today, “A great majority of campus is fine. All our residence halls are safe and secure. We’ve got a Mardi Gras holiday, so we were blessed that most students were away. Classes are not scheduled to resume until Wednesday. But we probably had between 500-800 students in our residence halls. We never lost power. The cafeteria is up and running, and everyone is fine.”
Welcome news from the University of Southern Mississippi campus which was struck by a violent tornado that ripped through Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Students were urged to avoid campus today and possibly tomorrow due to severe damage to some of the southern academic buildings. In total, more than 200 homes were damaged or destroyed and more than 60 injuries were reported in the area but no reported injuries on campus.
USM Foundation has started a relief fund to help aid victims of this weekend’s events and are taking donations online through the foundation website.
School is scheduled to resume Wednesday as originally planned following the Mardi Gras holiday. The men’s basketball game against Tulane will still be held at the Reed Green Coliseum, 7 pm. The Jazz Station, Ogletree Alumni House, Elam Arms and the Mannoni Performing Arts Center may be sectioned off for repairs or safety reasons and should be avoided. Below is some of the footage shot shortly after the tornado.