Is It Just Me or Does Someone Else Smell a Burnt Squrriel?

With the recent Natural Disaster in New Orleans putting disaster preparedness on everyone’s minds you would think that we would be a little more adept at handling power outages of our own. However, we were reminded this Sunday how our lives are dictated by our commodities and how helpless we are without them. Mother Nature has her way of letting us know who’s in charge, be it in the form of a category 5 hurricane or a kamikaze squirrel. Regardless of what you were doing, if you live in Seeley, Barnum, or Warner Hall you were partially if not totally with out power. Other areas with out power included Mandeville, Carlson, and Marina Dining hall as well as other areas across the City of Bridgeport.The event occurred around 4:15pm, on Sunday September 18th. According to United Illumination electrical company, a squirrel chewed into a power line causing it to short out. Consequently, a 3 foot by 2 inch fuse in Mandeville blew affecting buildings on the same circuit. Around 12:15am, in an attempt to ratify the situation, United Illumination cut the power off totally in the affected buildings in order to try and figure out exactly where the fuse was located. Residents in those halls were temporarily evacuated and rendered homeless and abandoned (if only for a few hours), wandering from building to building in an attempt to find electricity. Many students ended up going back in to the darkened dorms. Some attempted to stay with friends in Bodine, but were turned away. Finally, at 1:25 am after one failed attempt, the electricity was fully restored. Although we may commend United Illumination and Campus safety for rectifying the situation, the most palpable heroes and heroines in this event were all the RA’s in the affected halls.