San Diego Mesa College is not afraid of the dark.
The historic blackout left millions of people in Southern California, Mexico, and parts of Arizona without electricity on Sept. 8, leaving Mesa’s campus without power.
The power went out on campus at 3:30 p.m., and most students assumed that it was only Mesa that lost power. Once it was announced that classes were canceled students began to make their trips home, only to realize that the whole county was plagued by the power outage.
The Chancellor made the decision to cancel all classes for the remainder of the day. Afterward, a text and e-mails were sent out to inform students of the cancellation as the Deans evacuated students from the campus. The San Diego Mesa Community College Police Department was in charge of keeping parking lots safe and directing traffic.
Thankfully the blackout resulted with no injuries or accidents on campus. However, there were students who were trapped in the LRC elevators. Campus police were able to open the doors enough to give the students air while they waited for the elevator electrician to arrive.
Mesa students were patient and well behaved despite the circumstances.
“Students did a wonderful job,” said Sergeant Diana Medero when commenting about the evacuation of the campus.
The evacuation was done in an orderly manner, and the campus police and staff were able to have everyone off campus by 5:00 p.m. that night.
“Our main goal was to get students of campus quickly and safely,” said Sergeant Medero.
Some students realized to late that they where unprepared for an emergency of this magnitude. Cars were left on campus due to insufficient gas, but they were able to get home.
“I was stoked I was able to get out of class, and a test, but in all seriousness I did realize how unprepared I was for something like this,” said student James Miller.
Some students learned the hard way about backing up their work.
“Due to the blackout my desktop computer turned off, resulting in losing my five page research paper,” said Ricardo Radulovich.
Sergeant Medero gave advice in case something like this was to happen again. She suggests always having at least a half a tank of gas to make sure you can get home. Always carry at least $20 just in case ATMs aren’t working. Also, have an emergency bag packed that includes water, granola bars, and other snacks. At home make sure you have candles and matches, and try to stay at home until power is restored.