Giving Thanks …to R-N’s heroes of Sandy

Hurricane Sandy led to the cancellation of classes at Rutgers-Newark for the week of Oct. 29 through Nov. 2, and the closing of campus offices through Oct. 31. During that period, 700 resident students remained on campus, in the capable hands of a dedicated and capable assortment of staff.  These employees not only cared for the residents but piled sandbags, kept generators going, secured science labs, maintained communications and computing systems, cleared  trees, cleaned  up mountains of debris, and many, many other tasks, so classes could safely resume on Nov. 5.

These dedicated staff people rightfully deserve the thanks and praise of the entire campus community.  To echo the appreciative words of Interim Chancellor Philip Yeagle:  

“We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to our staff who worked tirelessly all the week of the storm to keep our resident students safe and the physical campus in as good a condition as possible.   The staff members who stayed throughout the storm included approximately 24 from Housing and Dining Services, 30 Resident Assistants, 74 Physical Plant employees, 18 police officers and 17 Campus Safety security officers.  They performed flawlessly and gave comfort and security to 700 resident students.   There were also staff and administrators in some of the schools who remained on campus despite being concerned about families and homes of their own.”