Freshman Jessica Shiney sat in the basement of Irwin Hall last Friday, nervously watching the news, trying to figure out where the storm was.

“I think a lot of people were freaking out at first,” Shiney said of the tornadic storm cell that passed through the Baldwin City area last week.

Tornado sirens were sounded in the late afternoon, and Associate Dean of Students Teresa Clounch began making phone calls to resident assistants.

“I think everything went according to plan,” Clounch said. “I went out and alerted the staff.”

Within minutes, students were filing into designated shelter areas and preparing for the storm that touched down four miles southeast of Eudora.

“I was in (Harter Union) and noticed quite a few freshmen and upperclassmen,” Dean of Students Cassy Bailey said.

Clounch said students who live in Horn and Markham apartments and the Living and Learning Center should seek shelter in Harter Union or Gessner Hall.

“We were keeping an eye out in both directions,” Clounch said about making sure students went to the proper locations. “It was kind of challenging because of the time.”

Students who live in Gessner or Irwin Halls are informed early in the school year that they are supposed to take shelter in the basement, but Clounch said she wasn’t sure how many of them retain that information.

"You just hope that they recall what they've learned," Clounch said.<br/>In addition to having a meeting at the beginning of the year, Clounch said signs are posted throughout the residence halls.In addition to having a meeting at the beginning of the year, Clounch said signs are posted throughout the residence halls.
In addition to having a meeting at the beginning of the year, Clounch said signs are posted throughout the residence halls.

Despite this, freshman Amber Griffin said she thought students could have been informed better.

“Maybe we could have been told a little sooner,” Griffin, who also took shelter in the Irwin basement, said. “But we’re all at the point where we’re supposed to know what to do (in a tornado).”

Others, like freshman Alisa Rotman, ended up taking shelter in Mabee Hall.

"We knew where to go," Rotman said. "It was very organized. I wasn't worried at all."<br/>Rotman and the rest of the cheer and dance squads sat in the hallway waiting for the storm to pass.Rotman and the rest of the cheer and dance squads sat in the hallway waiting for the storm to pass.
Rotman and the rest of the cheer and dance squads sat in the hallway waiting for the storm to pass.

“We were just scared of the tornado,” she said.

Because of the time and the day of the week, Bailey said it was difficult to know who was on campus and where they were.

Despite this problem, Clounch said students should probably be more aware of safety procedures in the future.

“A lot of people don’t know what to take with them,” she said. “Everyone wears flip-flops now.”

Clounch said typically students would want to wear tennis shoes and bring a flashlight, cell phone and identification with them.

Shiney only brought one item with her to the basement: a pillow.

“I was only down there for 20 minutes,” she said. “Then I heard the storm had passed.”