PAGE 2 I THE MEREDITH HERALD 1 OCTOBER 1. 2008
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TEMPERATURES, Continued from Page 1
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1^1^‘nd Kbmpney
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Artpirector
April Rumniage ,
Graphic Designer:
.Kyra Young
Literature Advisor
Suzanne Britt
Design Advisor
Dana Gay
TTw Meredith Herald is
published by the Cdl^e
thrpugtwut »he academic
y^. The paper Is funded
l^ the College arid thfougli,,'
indejMndent advertialr^.
An adverQsemenls should be
sent to herald@rT)eredith.edu.
The opinions expressed In
the edttoiial columns do not.
necessarily reflect those of
the CoNege admlnlslratlon.
^faculty, or student body. ,
The policy of this paper
requlres that sul)inlss(ons
be made Thuridaye t^bre
fiye o'clock, allowins time
for Mireultaliph between
statr and contril)utor8:'
tM a^ln hot exceed
editor, exc^
'tmrdaVand^co'n^
;|m sign all aubmisalbns
^;^idle fiecMsary
c^t%)t^o^.llofl^The
guWennes
f^lonFma
of potentially threatening incidents.
However, because this alarm can
only be heard campus-wide, of
ficials strongly ui^e students to
sign up for MC Alert through Web
Advisor, which can “convey time-
sensitive information within min
utes,” as well as “schedule, send and
track personalized voicemail, email
and text messages to students, fac
ulty and staff’ (www.meredith.edu/
mcalert/default.htm).
The next action is addressing life
safety. For students living on cam
pus, the Director of Residence Life
is the source for breaking news and
updates, while the Director of Com
muter Life, in conjunction with the
Marketing and Communication Of
fice, will work to keep commuter
students informed. Temporary shel
ter is available for any commuters
wishing to seek shelter on campus
and can be arranged through the
Residence Director on duty. (Just
remember, blankets, pillows and
toiletries are not provided.) The
Marketing and Communication Of
fice is also responsible for notifying
the public of Meredith’s situation
and reporting any damages or power
outages, while the Director ofFacili-
ties Services and Campus Police are
in charge of calling the Raleigh Fire
and Police Departments for emer
gencies and alerting EMS and local
hospitals of any injuries or illnesses.
Food, water, electricity and heat will
be available on campus since Belk
Dining Hall is equipped with a gen
erator strong enough to power both
its upper and lower levels. Addition
ally, telephone communication will
be supplied through a phone bank in
the Aliminae House.
But what happens after the storm
has passed? Are our Meredith of
ficials better-suited to handle re
covery efforts than our national
ones? Thankfully, yes. Phones
will be made available messages
from loved ones to students will be
communicated, and follow-up an
nouncements, like when the college
will re-open, will be publicized.
Students don’t have to worry about
power outages or damage to dorms
either, as both of these tasks have
been appropriately delegated under
the college’s fourth response prior
ity, “Protection of Property.” The
school’s recovery plan, the fifth
and final step, promises to “house
any displaced residents” and “assist
displaced commuter students.” Any
other help the Meredith community
requires will come from “Raleigh
resources”—provided the college
asks for the city’s help first (www.
meredith.edu/emergency-planning/
default.htm).
Although many students complain
about Meredith’s location and many
passers-by (erroneously) brand it
“one big, gated sorority house,”
being so far secluded and so close-
knit does have its benefits. With the
small number of students and the
propinquity of its dorms and build
ings, Meredith can better ensure that
“all persons will be accounted for”
and can more easily carry out its se
vere weather policy (www.meredith.
edu/emergency-planning/default.
htm). Americans have often been
advised to prepare their own worst-
case-scenario plans, and with the
lack of or delay in government aid
witnessed in recent disasters, many
are seeing it as their only recourse.
What a relief to know that if a storm
were to hit campus, the only thing
that would break afterwards would
be the clouds, not our spirits.
For more information on Mere
dith College’s Emergency Prepared
ness or for a comprehensive look at
the Major Incident Response Plan,
visit WH’W. meredith. edu/emergen-
cy-planning/default.htm. ■
ELLEN POMPEO, Continued from Page 1
folding chairs, and magazines with
them to pass the time away in com
fort. Pompeo was hot the only celeb
rity present; Danielle Panabaker, of
“Mr. Brooks” and “Sky High” fame,
also spoke in siipport of the Obama
cause. Leah Cowan, the field direc
tor of the Raleigh Obama campaign,
opened the event with a few words
urging a proactive attitude toward
getting out to vote and promote sup
port for the Obama campaign.
As 5:30 approached, the chapel
roared with cheers and excitement
rose as “Yes We Can” and “Obama
08” chants welcomed the two stars
to Meredith College. Pompeo was
the first to speak. After a few en
couraging words about the state of
North Carolina, she continued on to
stress the fact that North Carolina
is a battleground state and the im
portance of campaigning in favor of
Barack Obama. Pompeo encouraged
participation in the 100,000 Knocks
for Barack campaign that strives to
have volunteers knock on 100,000
doors in the Raleigh area in order
to promote support for Obama.
Panabaker mentioned that college
students play a large part in the
election each year and (hat we have
much influence on the direction our
country will take in the near future.
After 15 minutes or so of speech
time, the floor was opened for ques
tions. After prompted to tell the
biggest reason or issue that first
attracted them to Barack Obama,
Panabaker replied that she was
drawn to Obama based on his view
about education. Due to experi
ences growing up, she saw the flaws
in the American education system
and believes that Obama will help
to correct these flaws. Pompeo
replied that she was drawn to Obama
not solely based on a political issue
but by the character of the man. She
cited his attitude about abortion and
his mindset that it isn’t a decision
taken lightly by women whereas
other candidates take a “no, no,
no” attitude. The enthusiastic
rally ended with a reminder of the
ABC hit series Grey’s Anatomy
when Pompeo spoke her
trademark, “seriously.”
If you would like more informa
tion about how to become involved
in the Obama campaign or how
to join the College Democrats
please contact Amanda Eubanks,
president of the College Democrats
at eubanksa@meredith.edu or Leah
Cowan, field director of the Raleigh
Obama campaign at Icowan@nc-
forchange.com. ■
Ellen Pompeo. Grey’s Anatomy star, pictured above, second
from left, with members of the College Democrats
Phoh couHeayAprilRummege