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UPDATE:
Classes are no longer cancelled tomorrow.
At 9:41 p.m. the Tech alert was updated.
"Virginia Tech will be OPEN Monday Oct. 29. Classes and offices operate per normal schedule."
According to University Relations, an executive order from the state's governor was misinterpreted.
"Sorry to give everyone a knee jerk reaction on a Sunday night," said Larry Hincker, Associate Vice President for University Relations, in a phone-call Sunday night. "Sorry we got everyone all excited about the day off, but you're going to have to go to class tomorrow.”
At 9:53 p.m. University Relations sent out the following message:
"University leadership received an order from Gov. McDonnell to close all executive offices. Subsequent to our sending VT Alerts, state government leaders clarified that the Virginia governor's executive order was not intended for colleges and universities. We will make decisions concerning university status based on local conditions. We apologize for confusion."
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All classes are canceled at Virginia Tech tomorrow.
At 9:11 p.m. a Tech Weather Alert was released saying that the classes were cancelled in accordance with an executive order from the state's governor, with essential personnel to still report.
Schools are being closed throughout Virginia in preparation for Hurricane Sandy, which is expected to hit the east coast from Virginia to New York.
A version of this article appeared in the Oct 29 issue of the Collegiate Times.
Leave a comment 15 Comments Write a letter to the editor
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What in tarnation is the point of a VT alerts system if all they're going to do is send out conflicting information?
And who was responsible for making/reversing this decision so quickly? It's truly unfair to students when the later message makes NO indication that this is a CHANGE from previous status--nobody on my floor is certain where this decision came from and which alert is going to hold water with professors tomorrow.
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I can clarify your confusion.
The professors will abide by the "Classes will be held on Monday memo"
Mistakes happen, go to class like you're suppopsed to.
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I am sick of all the undergrads whining about this. Assuming you are taking 15 credit hours a semester and you are in-state you are paying ~$30 per lecture (MUCH higher if your out of state.) I would think you would actually want to attend class, that is why you came here.
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I don't think anyone would be complaining if we hadn't gotten the first alert that school was closed. They shouldn't have screwed up and sent that. Some of us are very busy and could use an extra day to study/do homework. Excuse us for getting our hopes up that we'll have more study time.
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I don't think anyone would be complaining if we hadn't gotten the first alert that school was closed. They shouldn't have screwed up and sent that. Some of us are very busy and could use an extra day to study/do homework. Excuse us for getting our hopes up that we'll have more study time.
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The last thing that VT needed to do was jeopardize the confidence in VT Alerts....
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The last thing that VT needed to do was jeopardize the confidence in VT Alerts....
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The first message clearly said that the state was closing the university. It doesn't require much attention to realize that decision wasn't made here and even that university officials disagreed.
The second message clearly said that the state had clarified the order and the university was not making the same too early decision. Given the average weather today, that was the right call.
In my case, the cancel and not cancelled notices were interwoven. I got a phone call telling me classes were being cancelled after getting the computer alert that classes were back on. Still, it seemed obvious what had happened in all three communication methods even if there was an hour of confusion.
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Just wait until after you graduate and you get a job in the real world. There will be plenty of knee-jerk reactions and plenty of conflicting reactions/messages as well. Consider today training for the future.
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As someone who has worked in the real world, I can tell you that these kinds of mistakes are the things that cost people jobs and reprimands. Maybe all the "quit whining" people should think about that. The students are PAYING to come here, that should entitle them to a bit of professionalism and competence when it comes to the alerts system.
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