Central Virginia is not exactly Tornado Alley; a quick check on TornadoHistoryProject.com turns up one twister in the city limits and nine in Albemarle County in the last half-century. More common around here are the straight-line winds, microbursts (and even the odd derecho).
But tornados are not to be taken lightly. On Sept. 20, 1959, a twister near Ivy killed 11 people. And the one storm in the city limits, on May 13, 2000, is blamed for one injury.
Besides, the precautions you should take for tornados and other windstorms are pretty similar.
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Health and Safety,
News,
On Grounds,
safety | Friday, March 8th | By: Dan @3:53 pm |
The 21st Annual 4th-Year 5K Run/Walk will take place Saturday at 8 a.m., beginning at Nameless Field. Participants can register here.
The race occurs every November around the time of the last home football game to provide students with a healthy alternative to the high-risk drinking tradition associated with the final home football game: the “fourth-year fifth.” The race is also a chance for members of the larger University community to come together to publicly demonstrate their commitment to responsible behavior and healthy living.
The race is presented every year by the Peer Health Educators and is made possible by support from community sponsors and other University organizations.
Proceeds from the race go to the Leslie Baltz Foundation, an art history scholarship fund established by the Baltz family and friends to honor Leslie’s memory.
Baltz was a fourth-year honor student in studio art and art history who died Nov. 30, 1997 as a result of high-risk drinking on the day of the last home football game.
Health and Safety,
safety,
Student Life | Wednesday, November 7th | By: Dan @8:00 am |
The photo above shows what was found behind a cornice on Kerchof Hall, home of the Department of Mathematics — and, appropriately enough, to “Bee School,” described as “an informal seminar at the University of Virginia on the mathematics of honeybee behavior and the practice of beekeeping. It’s part academic pursuit and part social activity, honoring the University’s unique tradition of close student-faculty friendship.” It’s led by Christian Gromoll, an associate professor of mathematics.
Gromoll’s nicely illustrated post on the Bee School blog tells the whole story of extracting the huge hive from Kerchof. In the end, Gromoll and his helpers collected about four pounds of bees, a large broodnest and 145 pounds of honeycomb out of the building. The bees were relocated to Gromoll’s bee yard.
Tornadoes are in the forecast for Tuesday.
Well, at least tornado drills; Tuesday marks Tornado Preparedness Day across Virginia. The University will participate in a statewide tornado drill scheduled to begin at 9:45 a.m. The University will test its emergency notification system, and the Health System will conduct a tornado procedures drill.
According to the U.Va. Emergency Preparedness Office, during the emergency notification system test you should:
- Receive a UVaAlerts text message (and possibly email) if you have signed up; see www.virginia.edu/uvaalerts to sign up
- Receive an e-mail on your University email account
- Receive a page if you are part of the U.Va. Health System
- Hear an overhead announcement if in the U.Va. Medical Center complex
- See a test message on your computer if the desktop pop-up is installed
- See a test message on the UVa home page
- See a display on LED or LCD screens in some areas and classrooms across Grounds
- Hear the outdoor siren and public address system if you are outside
- Health System employees will be provided receive specific guidance on drill procedures and performance expectations.
For those not in the Health System, unless you are in a meeting, in class or engaged in a critical activity when you see or hear the test tornado message, you should practice moving to a safe location or take a minute to plan how you would shelter from a tornado. This minute of effort may save your life one day.
For further information, see the tornado fact sheet on www.virginia.edu/emergency and after the break. Should you have questions or comments regarding this drill, contact the Office of Emergency Preparedness at 434-982-0565 or uvaoep@virginia.edu. Health System questions should be directed to PIC 1655 or uvahcc@virginia.edu.
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Health and Safety,
Health System,
News,
On Grounds,
safety | Monday, March 19th | By: Dan @11:00 am |
It’s not often that an academic and a pop star’s work crosses paths. But that’s what happened last week when Lady Gaga invited University of Virginia education professor Dewey Cornell, an authority on bullying and school violence prevention, to participate in the launch of her Born This Way Foundation.
“There was no singing or dancing” at the symposium, Cornell said, “but a great deal of passionate language about improving the world.”
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Curry School,
News,
People,
safety | Wednesday, March 7th | By: Dan @6:34 pm |
Among questionable U.Va. traditions, one that University officials and most students would love to see go away is the Fourth-Year Fifth. (That and yelling “not gay” during the “Good Ol’ Song.”)
So fourth-years have been reminded by their peers of the dangers of alcohol over-consumption through events and emails these past couple of weeks. Messages have come from the ADAPT peer educators; the Peer Health Educators; Inter-Fraternity and Inter-Sorority councils; and the Class of 2012 Trustees, who wrote to their classmates:
Drinking a fifth of liquor is the equivalent of 17 drinks. Regardless of your perceived tolerance, this is a dangerous amount of alcohol. Drinking that much alcohol in a short period of time increases your risk. At a minimum, you’ll have an awful hangover and won’t remember much, if any, of your last football game as a U.Va. student. At worst, the consequences of that choice may be much more long lasting. We encourage you to sign the pledge not to attempt the fourth-year fifth. Please consider the consequences of the fourth-year fifth, discourage any friends who may consider attempting it, look after your friends on game day and NEVER leave an intoxicated friend alone. Ninety-four percent of fourth-years report that they intervene to stop intoxicated friends from hurting themselves – let’s continue looking out for each other and push that to 100 percent.
To drive home the point, the Blue Ridge Poison Center, based at the School of Medicine, put out this message about alcohol poisoning.
Eighty-percent of fourth-year students don’t participate in this potentially dangerous practice, says Courtney Lester, chair of ADAPT. During Substance Abuse Awareness Week Nov. 12-18, she says, nearly 500 fourth-year students pledged not to participate and to look out for their intoxicated friends. The campaign message: “I’ll remember the game.”
We hope the messages are taken seriously, particularly on the eve of our game against Virginia Tech – which may indeed be an event worth remembering. — Marian Anderfuren
Community,
Medical School,
safety,
Student Life | Tuesday, November 22nd | By: Dan @6:16 pm |
The wonderfully named “Keep the Fires Burning” campaign has received a major boost from the U.Va. Alumni Association.
The association’s Board of Managers announced that it would match the first $1 million in contributions toward the estimated $3.7 million cost of repairing the cracked chimneys in the Academical Village and installing a modern fire suppression system. The funds must be in place by the end of November to have the chimneys repaired in time for the ban on fireplace use to be lifted this academic year.
(For the back story, check out last week’s UVA Today article.)
Alumni,
News,
On Grounds,
safety,
Student Life | Wednesday, October 26th | By: Dan @2:20 pm |
Two years ago today, Virginia Tech student Morgan Dana Harrington wandered away from the John Paul Jones Arena, where a Metallica concert was being held, and vanished into the darkness after last being spotted on the Copeley Road bridge. She was not seen again until her remains were discovered months later on an Albemarle County farm. Her killer or killers have never been found.
Since that awful day, two first-year classes have entered the University, and two others have graduated. The urgency has faded; life has marched on for most people, bringing new joys and new sorrows. That’s natural.
But Morgan’s parents, Dan and Gil Harrington, are working hard to make sure that Morgan’s legacy lives on, and that all women learn the lessons of Morgan’s death. UVA Today has the story of their efforts to prevent the next tragedy, and Patricia Lampkin, U.Va.’s vice president and chief student affairs officer, yesterday sent a reminder to all students about their obligations to keep themselves and one another safe.
Community,
News,
On Grounds,
safety,
Student Life | Monday, October 17th | By: Dan @3:23 pm |
(From UVA Today correspondent Marian Anderfuren)
Did you feel it?
An aftershock from the Aug. 23 earthquake, magnitude 2.6, rattled a few folks on Wednesday, said David Spears, state geologist, who spoke Thursday to an emergency preparedness forum at U.Va.
In fact, he said, there have been more than 100 aftershocks. They’re coming less and less frequently, and they’ll probably stop counting in a couple of weeks, he told a roomful of folks representing almost every corner of the University.
“The 5.8 earthquake was the most widely felt earthquake in U.S. history,” he said, with shaking being felt from the Mississippi Gulf Coast up to Eastern Canada. “It was felt by more people than any earthquake in history.”
Continue reading…
News,
On Grounds,
safety | Friday, October 14th | By: Dan @2:55 pm |
Here’s an image that every emergency services director on the East Coast should have on their walls.
While it appears that Charlottesville will likely be spared the brunt of Hurricane Irene, with forecasts calling for intermittent rain and gusty winds, Old Dominion and Christopher Newport universities and the College of William & Mary — all in Irene’s forecast path — have closed. Don’t even contemplate going eastward in I-64, and brace yourselves for an onslaught of refugees from the east.
Keep an eye on U.Va.’s home page and your University email for any further developments.
News,
On Grounds,
safety | Friday, August 26th | By: Dan @2:12 pm |
Students and faculty members have been hard at work, making the gardens grow at Hereford Residential College and across from Observatory Hill Dining Hall, which includes contending with bugs, as well as fierce rainstorms. Lately a new culprit has done more damage: somebody’s been stealing the fruits of their labors. The students were devastated, according to one volunteer, not only with the losses but also the violation of trust. It also affects their learning experience.
“We are asking everyone to please keep an eye out for any suspicious activity in the gardens and to call the U.Va. Police (who are aware of the situation) if any unauthorized veggie collecting is spotted. So far, thieves have decimated the Student Garden’s garlic, eggplant and cabbage crops, and have wiped out the Coleman Garden’s ripe zucchini and tomatoes,” wrote student intern Erica on the website for the Thomas Jefferson Demonstration Garden.
Community,
Health and Safety,
safety,
Student Life,
Sustainability | Friday, July 15th | By: Anne Bromley @4:42 pm |
(From UVA Today reporter Anne Bromley)
In the spirit of Thomas Jefferson’s Academical Village, students and professors lived together, dined, learned, ventured and explored together earlier this month – in the Caribbean island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis.
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With winter weather apparently bearing down on Charlottesville, it might be a good idea to re-read the University’s new policy on dealing with weather emergencies.
News,
On Grounds,
safety | Wednesday, December 15th | By: Dan @5:46 pm |
Hey students! As you wrap up your exams and head on home for a well-deserved break, don’t give any would-be burglars in Charlottesville any breaks.
Every January, there are stories about students whose residences are burglarized over the break. Many times, students could have done more to prevent such occurrences.
Here are a few tips, courtesy of Lt. Ronnie Roberts of the Charlottesville Police:
The Charlottesville Police Department would like to remind all students to take a few simple steps to protect their valuables as you finish your exams and depart the University for the holidays at home.
1. Take your laptop and other electronic devices home with you.
2. Check all windows to ensure they are locked.
3. Make sure the doors to your room are locked.
4. Have the last person leaving your apartment or suite, lock the main door.
5. Purchase a light timer, preferably the ones with multiple settings (about $10 each), this will enable you to leave lights on in the residence and have the appearance of occupancy.
Hate to leave you on a negative note, so have a great holiday season, catch up on some Z’s and we’ll see you back here after the New Year!
safety,
Student Life | Monday, December 13th | By: Dan @3:35 pm |
The snowy photo accompanying today’s UVA Today story on which employees must work during weather emergencies made me shiver.
In that spirit, though, the Boston Globe’s fabulous “Big Picture” blog today delivered 37 pictures of snow scenes from around the world, including the photo above of a fogbound tree in a snow-covered field near Bern, Switzerland. (And yes, they are all from this year.)
You can check out the other 36 photos here.
