Even though I’ve lived in South Florida my entire life, I’ve never experienced a hurricane season that has made me feel this nervous. My first year in college has given me a new outlook on things, after realizing just how little students and schools seem to take things seriously during the threat of a hurricane.
I’ve seen countless people throw hurricane parties in the past, many of which used to feature the infamous (now discontinued) hurricane cake from Publix. Even this semester there were hurricane parties while students waited for an announcement about the university closing school.
I found this extremely distasteful because even though the parties were lighthearted, thousands of people are at risk of being displaced by hurricanes. While we are extremely privileged to be in a secure building during these disasters, there are upwards of 31,000 people experiencing homelessness on any given night in Florida according to the Florida Coalition to End Homelessness.
Animal shelters also experience extreme overcrowding during hurricanes. According to a study by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, there are more than 2.8 million feral cats living in Florida, who are either left outdoors or placed in shelters during hurricanes.
Students need to take hurricanes more seriously instead of blatantly disregarding warnings and possible destruction in favor of celebrating days off. Beyond just being unsafe, this behavior is disrespectful to those losing their belongings, livelihoods, and even lives to these natural disasters.
I know firsthand how dangerous hurricanes can be. In 2017, my family had to evacuate our home before Hurricane Irma. My dad had to stay home as an essential worker, and my mom took my sister and I further north. Having to evacuate completely changed my attitude about hurricanes.
Furthermore, studies show that hurricanes with female names are taken less seriously than those with male names. People don’t evacuate or prepare enough when they should, therefore making them more deadly on average.
This was recently an issue during Hurricane Helene, an extremely deadly storm that did major damage in North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Tampa, FL. Helene caused more than 200 casualties, many of which were people who either did not not have the means to evacuate or chose not to, though they were encouraged to.
At UM, classes went on as normally scheduled, even with terrible wind. According to the UM weather policy, wind alone isn’t enough to close campus, but with many out-of-state parents and students worried, going to classes was not a top priority for everyone.
Around 71% of students at UM are either international or out-of-state. For many, their first experience with a hurricane may be at school. So while the wind might be nothing for someone who has experience with a hurricane, someone without any experience won’t feel as comfortable and look to the University for support.
During Hurricane Milton, UM canceled in-person classes. On Monday, Oct 7, UM put out a statement regarding Milton. They announced that classes would be moved to Zoom until Thursday, Oct. 10.
After the statement was released, I heard people cheering and celebrating all down my hall in my dorm. People started treating the days of online classes like a vacation, when in reality it was to make sure everyone was safe.
The next day, most people had a completely different attitude.
Even though the statement adhered to the 72-hour window mentioned in the emergency weather policy, three days is not enough time to secure flights back home, not to mention airline price gouging. Some of the same students I watched celebrate the cancellation of in-person classes scrambled through the hallways, racing to get home to other states, and even other countries, safely. Realization set in that they were all expected to somehow get to safety and still attend class on Friday. This left many students with even fewer options to evacuate safely.
Even though we have been lucky enough at UM to not have a serious hurricane hit us, there is always a possibility. Everyone living in Florida should make an effort to stay informed this hurricane season. The more you know about hurricanes, the better prepared you are to take action.
You should also be sure to have an evacuation plan ready before things start getting serious. For those who live out of state, talk with a parent or guardian about how you could get home in an emergency, or find someone who would be willing to take you in under short notice, like a roommate’s family.
It is important to remember that getting a few extra days to sleep in during the semester is not something to celebrate when you think of the potential deaths and millions of dollars in damages hurricanes cause. You should always be informed, smart and compassionate during the stressful hurricane season.