Although Shaw University officials are still assessing the damage caused by storms earlier this month, the school’s president said she remains hopeful classes will resume in the Fall.
Shaw, a historically black university in downtown Raleigh, canceled classes for the remainder of the Spring semester after the April 16 tornados devastated the campus’ infrastructure. None of Shaw’s students, faculty or staff were seriously injured in the storm, but buildings, roofs and windows sustained serious damage.
“The university is working with its insurance company and consulting experts to discover the full extent of the damage,” said the school’s president, Irma McClaurin, who added that administrators are not making any assumptions about the Fall but remain “hopeful.”
Since the storm, hundreds of people from the surrounding area, including Duke, have traveled to Shaw to start the process of removing debris from the campus of the historic school, which was founded in 1865 and is the oldest historically black college or university in the South.
Duke’s Black Student Alliance organized a cleanup effort last Thursday, and was joined by a number of students not affiliated with the group after the email detailing plans for the trip reached students in Duke Partnership for Service, other black student groups and the entire freshman class, said BSA President Nana Asante, a junior. BSA provided transportation for about 25 Duke students, but many other students drove themselves, she added. When the Duke students arrived, they were joined by more than 400 others in the Triangle community.
“The outpouring of support shows that [Duke students] have the ability to transcend boundaries or the perceived limitations of race,” Asante said of the broad support the trip received at Duke.
BSA has also worked with Panda Express to create a fundraiser that will send 20 percent of all proceeds Monday and Tuesday to Shaw, she said. The National Pan-Hellenic Council has helped to raise awareness for the fundraiser, she added.
McClaurin said the outpouring of support by various members of the surrounding community was “simply amazing.” The storm was a traumatic experience for students, and the school was forced to make a decision to cancel classes because student safety and well-being was the university’s top priority.
There were eight more days of classes and a week of exams scheduled when the storm hit. But graduation will go on as planned May 7, and Shaw senior Tyron McLaughlin said he does not expect the fact that the semester had to end early to affect seniors from graduating.
Kealisha Smith, a senior from Lexington, North Carolina, said she is expects the school will reopen its doors in time to begin the Fall semester. She added that the biggest issue for reopening the campus will be the repairing of the cafeteria, which was severely damaged in the storm.
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