There are still two months left in hurricane season, but the damage and death toll along the southeast coast has already escalated to record-breaking highs.
Two hurricanes have recently barreled over the same parts of Florida, touching down within mere weeks of each other and breaking records for the most damage done in the history of the state.
Hurricane Helene devastated a major part of the southern Atlantic coast: 250 people were lost to the storm, with numbers only climbing as recovery efforts continue. Residents faced not only the loss of their friends and family, but an incredible financial blow, with property damage racking up receipts in the billions of dollars. Hurricane Milton left over a million residents without power, and a million more are now drowning in rebuilding costs for broken homes. Milton scored the highest a hurricane can on the hurricane wind scale—category five—and its peak wind speed of 180 miles per hour amplified the devastation by triggering multiple tornado touchdowns.
New Jersey is no stranger to hurricanes. However, the relatively unscathed state of the Drew campus—save a turbulent tango with the weather in August—seems to have created a disconnect. The thousand or so miles between Drew and Florida might artificially separate us from the ongoing environmental disaster. However, the lack of physical destruction on campus does not mean the emotional fallout can be overstated.
Although the well-known connection between Jersey and its southern counterparts is often used as joke fodder—Florida as a retirement state, the strange love Jersians have for Disney World—its roots are much more grounded in reality.
Many students on campus have been directly affected by the hurricanes. Some hail from the Sunshine State themselves; for them, the past weeks have been clouded with frantic communication and anxiety over their possessions and the lives of their family members. Florida is not so far removed from us after such overwhelming and visible destruction.
University administration in the past has made a habit of reaching out to the general student body, and specifically affected students, following this severe of a disaster.
One such email from former President Schwarz reads, “I hope that all members of the Drew community and their loved ones are safe and dry in the wake of Hurricane Ida…Although campus remains open, we understand that some members of the Drew community will have difficulty coming to campus for work or class, and we encourage any affected individuals to reach out to their supervisors or course faculty as needed.”
Despite being a campus that screams their desire for and acceptance of a diverse student body, Drew’s current silence speaks volumes. Our inboxes are empty, our Google Spaces vacant. Not even an Instagram story has been posted on the matter.
An important detail is that the University only reached out to students after Drew’s campus was physically affected by Hurricane Ida. The lack of support cannot be solely attributed to the president. The communication structure itself is heavily flawed, and so administration continues to underserve support for students in crisis.
This follows a recurring pattern of miscommunication within the administration, both internal and external. Complaints and conversations might build steam within a department, but once in transit to the general student body, issues often get lost in the ether. Ways of contacting the proper authorities are confusing—sometimes buried on the Drew University website, sometimes found only through calling the wrong extension or emailing the wrong person. If they don’t have the answers, how are we supposed to?
The consistent silence from admin on important subjects leaves students feeling lost and unsupported. They have no one to look to when times are tough, and one email would work wonders to quell any uncertainties. Sadly, as the hurricanes wreaked devastation for thousands of families, affected Drew students had no administrative structures to fall back on. Support, even the bare minimum of a vocalized understanding, has to be arduously sought out and scrambled for.
Florida native Sierra Walker (‘25) explains, “As a Floridian, whose primary residence is in St. Petersburg, I am extremely frustrated at the administration’s lack of response. While my family has not been able to return home and I have seen friends lose their houses, I have been going to class and work as usual, without any information from the school as to whether I have to.”
Students like Walker are left in the mud while administrators fix cracked pathways and replace dead grass. The Drew administration prides itself on being supportive and inclusive, but these past few weeks have demonstrated their lack of communication and overall ignorance toward the needs of their students. This follows a string of instances where administrators have been called upon to make statements and have failed to provide support to causes and issues around campus.
“It is important that the administration offers continuous and tangible support to students from places other than New Jersey. This is especially important if they want to continue to use their diverse population as a selling point in advertising materials,” Walker said.
However, there is one silver lining: the only way admin can go now is up. This is a chance for Drew to reassert itself as a positive and strong communicative force for the student body. Drew can choose to reach out to victims of the Florida hurricanes and fix internal communications. President Link’s administration is still relatively new, so they have the opportunity to make a positive change to the university system and structure.
A simple acknowledgment of disaster, an empathetic email or campus-wide notice would allow affected students not only emotional comfort, but permission to hurt. With permission to hurt, the university as a whole can heal together and be more prepared to help when the next tragedy strikes.
Featured image courtesy of Kimberly Walker.
