Gareth Manning,
Gleaner Writer
Some students at the University of the West Indies, Mona
campus are angry that not enough preparations were made for them in light of the onslaught of Hurricane Dennis.
The students contend that they were misled by university officials who told them the Assembly Hall, the university's emergency shelter, was fully functional and prepared for evacuees.
no shelter manager
But when the students, who evacuated halls between nine and 12 o' clock on Wednesday night, walked into the Assembly Hall, there were only packed chairs and desks in corners. There was no shelter manager to guide students nor mattresses for sleeping.
Bathroom facilities were also in disarray as the auditorium's male bathroom was unlit and the female toilet facilities were not opened until the next day. Portable bathrooms were placed on the outside, however.
A few defiant local students and guild councillors who were told to go home as the hurricane neared Jamaica's shores, took to managing supplies and guiding overseas students despite university policy.
The university said it only makes provisions for international students during predictable disasters such as hurricanes.
state of the auditorium
Major Clive Davis, head of
the Safety and Emergency Management Systems team, dodged questions about the
preparedness of the shelter. Instead, he compared the state of the auditorium to other shelters across the island, which he said were much worse.
Emergency and Safety Management is contracted to the university to help with preparations and management in cases of emergency. Some $1.3
million is allocated annually
to safety and emergency
management.
Following a meeting with
university officials on Friday morning, Guild President Richard Toomer said a protocol is to be put in place, hopefully next week, regarding shelter management.
The protocol is to be prepared in tandem with Safety
and Emergency Management Systems and the Office of Students' Services and should outline the responsibilities of the university and procedures during an evacuation.
