A massive cleanup effort has begun at Union University in the wake of a tornado that plowed through the campus Feb. 5.
The tornado — which was part of a line of more than 60 rare winter tornadoes that hit five states, including Alabama — damaged 17 buildings on campus.
Forty percent of the campus’ dormitories were decimated, and the roof was torn off of a main academic building.
“By God’s providence, no lives were lost,” said David S. Dockery, president of the Baptist-affiliated, Jackson, Tenn., school. As many as 3,300 students had been on campus earlier in the day before classes dismissed. About 1,000 were there when the storm hit, and 51 people from the school were hospitalized.
Rebuilding efforts
Recovery efforts began on campus Feb. 7 with students, faculty and staff collecting students’ belongings from the dorm rubble, bagging and tagging them with the room number they came from and moving them to a nearby gym.
“God is so good,” Union student Josh Clarke said. “The student body outlook is very positive and the hand of God was all over us … No doubt the Lord will allow us to rebuild. No doubt we will be back to normal.”
Normal is what staff and students are working toward, but their immediate focus is more of an “essentialist” mind-set, Dockery wrote Feb. 8 on a blog at uurecovery.blogspot.com.
University officials also are at work drafting an “intermediate strategy” to help get classes under way again Feb. 18, Dockery said, despite the fact that almost every building on campus sustained significant damage during the storm.
School officials are looking for possible places where they can hold classes temporarily as well as asking area residents to volunteer to house students for the remainder of the semester.
“With the help of God, we will move forward together,” Dockery said.
He recalled a 2002 tornado that struck the campus, causing $2.6 million in damage, and said this one was “15 times worse than that.” The process of rebuilding will be “lengthy and extensive,” he said.
Baptists such as students at Samford University in Birmingham have already begun stepping in to help.
The day after the storm, Samford established a fund to provide financial assistance to its sister institution.
“Many of us within the Samford community have friends among the Union faculty, staff and student body,” said Samford President Andrew Westmoreland. “There is little we can do at the moment, but opportunities may arise for us to send volunteers to help.”
Ways to help
To donate to Union through Samford’s fund, visit www.samford.edu/giving or write to Samford’s Office of University Relations, 800 Lakeshore Drive, Birmingham, AL 35229.
Union is suggesting that those who want to help students consider providing gift cards that can be used in stores like Wal-Mart, Target, Lowe’s or Home Depot. Gift cards can be sent to “Union University Disaster Relief Fund” at 1050 Union University Drive, Jackson, TN 38305. (BP, TAB)
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