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BU classes canceled due to Hurricane Sandy

Boston University officials announced Sunday night that classes will be canceled on the Charles River Campus and the Medical Campus Monday due to Hurricane Sandy.

BU spokesman Colin Riley said the decision was made to heed the Massachusetts government’s request for schools to be closed.

“This is a thoughtful and deliberate process,” he said. “We have people who are in contact with federal and state emergency management planning and getting updates from National Weather Service, so it is taken very seriously and with a lot of information in making the best judgment for a safe campus.”

Dining halls at Warren Towers, West Campus, 100 Bay State Road and the George Sherman Union will remain open for normal hours. Student Health Services will run on a skeleton crew, Riley said, and the BU Shuttle will not operate.

“We have already taken some precautionary steps, where we have emergency preparedness for all sorts of occasions including hurricanes and power outages,” Riley said.

Hurricane Sandy could hit New England as an extra-tropical cyclone Monday, as previously reported by The Daily Free Press. Boston is expected to receive one to three inches of rain and wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour.

“We expect that there will be rain, heavy rain, high wind and driving rain,” Riley said. “We encourage people to move things away from their windows, and be aware of their electronics … Follow the guidance of local emergency and city officials. The most important thing is that people remain safe.”

Riley said BU created a Hurricane Task Force that has been activated.

“[We] have a command center,” he said. “If circumstances command that it needs to be activated, then we bring in people who are at the command center and also people from facilities, residence life and Dean of Students [office].”

Riley said BU has generators that will provide buildings with emergency power.

“The generators are not going to fail,” he said. “What you’re going to have is emergency lighting in student residences but not necessarily in student rooms.”

David Zamojski, assistant dean of students, said resident assistants will be able to provide some flashlights in case of power outages.

“Should you lose power in your residence during the storm, a flashlight is your best source of light,” he said in an email to students. “Candles pose a fire safety risk and are prohibited in the student residences … RAs have access to a limitedsupply [of flashlights] in the hall and area Residence Life offices.”

Riley said BU encourages students to not engage in any dangerous activities, such as going to look at the ocean.

Some students said they are pleased classes are cancelled.

“It would probably be safer to cancel school,” said College of Communication freshman Wes Palmer. “Especially if the public school system has cancelled school in the area and especially if Massachusetts is in a state of emergency, it just makes sense to cancel class.”

Keyla Blanco Gomez, a College of Arts and Sciences freshman, said before the announcement that while she is not concerned about the storm, it would be safer to cancel classes.

“I feel like the school hasn’t really addressed [the storm],” she said. “With debris and everything that could be sent with those types of winds, someone could easily get hurt. It’s better for everyone to just stay inside.”

Alex Wagner, a COM junior, said he is not very concerned by Hurricane Sandy.

“[The storm] looks like it’s heading into another direction last time I checked, so I’m not really too worried,” he said. “I’m living in a giant dormitory building, so I don’t expect any sort of flooding, and if there’s power outages, it’s not the worst thing in the world.

Margaret Waterman contributed to the reporting of this article.

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