Judson College will close its campus and transition to online course delivery for the remainder of the fall semester, effective Monday, November 9, 2020, due to citywide damage caused by Hurricane Zeta.
The difficult decision to close the campus for the remainder of the fall 2020 term was made “to promote the health and safety of our students and college community,” according to a statement posted at judson.edu. Like many colleges, Judson’s fall semester was scheduled to end Nov. 24, prior to Thanksgiving.
Hurricane Zeta made landfall on Oct. 28. Though downgraded to a tropical storm, Zeta’s winds caused massive damage as the storm moved through central Alabama in the pre-dawn hours of Oct. 29, downing trees and leaving more than half a million customers without power. Of the 567 reported power outages in Alabama remaining on Nov. 6, nearly 80 were in Perry and Bibb counties. Marion is located in Perry County.
Facebook posts by the City of Marion indicated downed trees, widespread power outages and damage to the city’s water system following Zeta.
Meal prep halted
The City of Marion Water Works issued a boil water notice on Oct. 30 due to the city’s water system losing pressure due to major storm damage. The Alabama Department of Public Health also suspended hot food preparation throughout the city of Marion and in other west central Alabama counties, according to a statement issued by Judson.
The college’s dining service provider, Sage Dining, was able to provide prepackaged options through breakfast on Nov. 6, but the inability to provide meals and clean water forced the decision to close campus beginning Nov. 6 at 3 p.m., Judson officials said.
Judson announced on Nov. 5 that beginning Friday at 3 p.m. CST, all Judson residence halls will close for the semester, and all courses will transition to an online format.
All student activities for the semester, including Coffeehouse, Hockey Day and Christmas Tea & Vespers, will be canceled or postponed until the spring semester. The on-campus Preview Day and Athletic Tryout Day scheduled for November 13 and 14 will also be cancelled.
Judson said in a statement that a prorated room and board credit will be applied to residential student accounts for the spring semester.
The city of Marion is scheduled to hold a special called meeting today (Nov. 6) at 5:30 p.m. to discuss the storm damage and ongoing issues.
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