6^ Fayetteville, NC Vol. XXXVII, No. 6 February 14, 2000 Snow Blankets The By Krista McArtan Photo Editor Winter 2000, brought an unusual weather experience to North Carolina, Fayetteville, and Methodist College. Having recently recovered from this year’s hurricane season with record floods leaving a trail of disaster, the Methodist College community was surprised and shaken again by raging snow storms. Weather forecasters called the first wave of the winter blast a small storm, which covered Fayetteville with 3 inches of ice and snow on Jan. 19, rendering roads impassable. The city was practically frozen solid with little more than snow removal teams, work crews and emergency vehicles trying to navigate over ice-covered streets. Schools, businesses and government offices were closed, and children of all ages were off frolicking in the cold white year 2000 winter surprise. The overnight accumulation record for Fayetteville had been set by a storm that dumped 3.7 inches in 1989, but that would soon change as North Carolina received the fallout from what local news anchors called “The Storm of a Lifetime.” The heart of the storm arrived on Jan. 25 blanketing the state, the city, and the campus. Fayetteville and the sur rounding area accumulated 6 to 12 inches of the cold white stuff The National Weather Service measured a record breaking 20.3 inches at the Raleigh/ Durham International Airport on Wednesday, Jan. 26. The highest snowfall measured at RDU before that was from a storm that hit in 1893, burying Raleigh/ Durham under 20.0 inches. Moore County got the worst of Stout Hall sparkles in the first snow of2000. it with a record twenty four inches. More snow, ice, and subfreezing temperatures followed and lasted through the end of January. Carolina Power and Light Company reported thousands of outages through the end of the month. N.C, Governor Jim Hunt asked people throughout the ten-county Cape Fear Region to check on family members and neighbors, especially the elderly. State National Guard personnel were deployed to clear roads, assist officials in rescuing stranded motorists, and provide emergency medical aid. As temperatures remained below freezing and precipitation continued, the county resembled a scene from the arctic adventure movie “The Great White North". Roads in rural areas and inside neighborhoods were completely coated with thick sparkling ice, and unprecedented closings prevailed. County schools, Fort Bragg, local government offices and many busi- Pholo hv Francine Hum nesses remained closed for the better part of the last 2 weeks in January in an effort to keep people off slick roads. Despite travel warnings issued by the state Department of Transporta tion, retailers reported plenty of business and the state Highway Patrol reported hundreds of accidents. For many students the unexpected break from classes at Methodist College was a welcomed one. “The time off was good for me, but 1 can see how it became a safety issue for the college,” said student Wilton Morales. Tara King, sophomore, said, “I was really glad to have the mini vacation. 1 think Methodist made the right call because the roads were really icy, and there could have been some dangerous situations.” Other students questioned the need to cancel classes or delay the opening of the campus for such an By Eddie Price Contributing Writer The Student Government Association was very busy during the fall semester, tackling issues such as speed bumps and commuter parking, as well as managing the student activity fee. After fall break, the campus community returned to find the addition of numerous giant speed bumps. The SGA took swift action, organizing a petition which over 500 members of the college community endorsed within 48 hours.The president delivered the petition, along with a request to lower the speed bumps to Dr. Hendricks, and within two weeks, work had commenced to lower the SGA votes on parking lot proposal. Pholo h\ Jami Sheppard extended period due to the inclement weather. “It seemed kind of silly at first, but the South just isn’t prepared to deal with the snow, so I think the college made a good decision,” said Bethany Helton, a senior communica tions major. Faculty members wondered how they would complete planned syllabi now that the semester was disrupted by an unusual but memorable act of nature. Paul Joseph, an assistant profes sor in the communications department, said, “1 was a little disappointed that so many classes were canceled. That may be because 1 come from Massachusetts where this type of snowfall and icing are practically everyday occurrences in the winter.” For some nontraditional students, it was difficult to get to the college on the days when classes were delayed instead of canceled. The closing of public schools, and daycares poses a unique problem for students and employees who have children. “ With the county schools closed and travel warnings issued, 1 couldn’t find anyone to care for my children, while 1 attended classes, said, Cindy Bridges, senior history major. “While Methodist was holding classes, many daycares remained closed because child care employees were at home caring for their own school-aged children, who were home due to extended county-wide clos ings.” • '''if fc : J ShJ ! KKii! # I ;n •*= SGA Creates Commuter’s Parking Lot "iN. Monarchs brave the cold, ready or not. Photo bv Francine Hunt speed bumps. The congestion of the parking lot adjacent to the Trustees’ building became a highly debated issue. Many different solutions were discussed, but ultimately the Senate voted to restrict the Trustees’ parking lot to commuters, faculty, and visitors only. Resident students will be cited after the effective date, which has yet to be determined. The SGA will advertise the switch, which should occur within the next couple weeks. The SGA apportioned over $15,000 to clubs and organizations during the fall semester. This was as a result of the revitalization of the student activity fee, which was passed last year. This was done in an attempt to make clubs and organizations more visible on campus, and has been a success. Grants are still available for clubs and organizations. The deadline for filing for a grant is the 15th of each month. If you have any questions concerning grants or sUident govern ment, please stop by the SGA office located in the Bems Student Center, or call 630-7108. What Y2K? By Stephanie Hein Staff Writer To extremes such as with drawing entire savings from the bank and growing one’s own food to simple self conscience worrying, the Y2K computer gliteh took it’s toll on everyone world wide. The Year 2000 crisis stemmed from computer systems built in the 1960s and 1970s only allowing dates to be stored in six digit fields rather then the eight digits that would be required for the year 2000 to register. With the absence of the two digit fields a threat of total computer shutdown at the dawning of a new millennium filled everyone’s minds. The billions of dollars and countless hours spent on making computers Y2K complaint has seemingly worked thus far. There have been no blackouts, the stock market is still up and running and generators can be turned off. There have been no reports of serious computer shutdowns due to the Y2K glitch, but many people were prepared for the worst. *‘My family and I took extreme precautions to prepare for the millennium. We took money out of the bank, bought all canned food, filled up buckets of water, unplugged everything in case of a power outage,” said sophomore Patti Wisniewski. According to Kim Dowd, dean of students, the computers at Methodist were not effected when the new century arrived and there are no perceived problems with them. Opinion Poll: Wbgt cjo you think oftbe new lool, of the nie//en9er ? E-mail us at mmessenger@inethodist.edu or at studentmedia@aol.com and tell us what you think. Inside: Tally Center conference is around the comer...page 3. What an editor thinks of the SGA decision...page 4. What is Valentine’s Day all about?...page 5. Music trivia! - win a free CD...page 6. Upcoming sports events...page 7.

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