What happens when the power goes out?
By Joshua Rosario | Published Feb. 8, 2017
Kean University’s Union campus was hit with a power outage during a storm on Monday, Jan. 23. Around 6:30 p.m., the power went out on Salem Rd., Green Lane, and adjacent streets around the University. The new North Ave. building was not affected by the outage.
It was the first day of Monday classes, so the outage created confusion for students and faculty after University Relations sent out an email during the storm, but before the outage, to assure students and faculty that all evening classes and events will be held as scheduled.
Soon after, University Relations issued a second email canceling classes.
“PSE&G reported the power outage was caused by the weather, heavy winds and rain,” said Margaret McCorry, Director of Kean University’s Media Relations in an email interview. “Determining whether the University remains open or close depends on President Farahi’s final decision.”
McCorry further explained that “The Kean University Emergency Management Team confers and makes a recommendation to the President, based on information from the National Weather Service and after consultation with a wide variety of law enforcement and emergency management offices, depending on the particular situation that is being addressed.
In consultation with the Emergency Management Team, the President makes the final decision on whether the University will continue normal operations, delay the start of classes, or cancel classes. Safety of the campus community is the primary concern in making these decisions.”
According to McCorry, the Emergency Management team considers road conditions to and from campus, the condition of parking lots and sidewalks within campus, facilities’ ability to manage the storm or other related issues, the status of local school districts and nearby universities, Township and County Offices’ operating status, assessment of safety concerns such as tree damage, sidewalks, etc and the status of trains, rails, buses, etc.
“Kean University has ongoing maintenance and storm preparedness programs designed to minimize the effects of any storm and keep the campus community safe should something beyond the University’s control cause an outage or a disruption. PSEG also has active maintenance programs,” said McCorry.
McCorry offered these steps in the event of a future power outage:
PSEG has an interactive “Outage Map” that can be accessed by the public at http://outagecenter.pseg.com/external/default.html. It provides current information about outages, locations of outages, and the estimated amount of time for a resolution.
The Kean community should also register for Kean’s Campus Alert, which provides updated information in an emergency. To register, visit www.kean.edu/KU/Campus-Alert. Users of the system are strongly encouraged to use the text message notification option of the Campus Alert System.
Updates and notices are also sent to the campus community through the University website at www.kean.edu, Facebook page (www.facebook.com/keanuniversity) or Twitter account (@KeanUniversity).
Please see the Office of Residential Student Services Facebook page (www.facebook.com/keanreslife) and Twitter page (www.twitter.com/Kean_U_Res_Life) for specific information regarding the residential community.
Kean Ocean students should visit the Ocean County College website (www.ocean.edu) for information regarding any campus closures or class cancellations, and sign up for the Viking Alert at ocean.sendwordnow.com. Students enrolled in classes at Middlesex County College, Bergen Community College or Raritan Valley Community College should always visit the website and sign up for the emergency alert system for the institution they are attending for information in an emergency.
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