Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson sent this message to parents and families of students Saturday night.

Dear Rice Parents and Families:

I would have updated you earlier, but there hasn’t been much to say. We’ve had rain squalls off and on all day, but nothing more than that. Some small tree limbs have broken off, but that is the only damage I have observed. Our Facilities Engineering and Planning (FE&P) and Housing and Dining (H&D) teams have done extraordinary jobs preparing and serving the campus, the colleges and the serveries, even though this has meant being away from their own homes and families during the storm. All of the college buildings are dry and secure. We have restocked our serveries, so we remain very well-prepared to keep everyone fed, comfortable and safe. My thanks go out to the great people at the Recreation Center and Fondren Library, who have kept these facilities available to our students all afternoon and will make them available again tomorrow afternoon. When Paula and I visited this afternoon, the Recreation Center was full of students.

As you may have read in my earlier email to our students, we are continuing to urge everyone to remain cautious and on alert. Although Harvey has been downgraded to a tropical storm, it still carries threats of very significant rainfall and even tornadoes. We are under a tornado watch this evening. As such, the Crisis Management Team is remaining vigilant, and we are encouraging all of our students to remain housed wherever they are currently: If on campus, stay on campus; If off campus, stay off campus. Localized flooding is probable, so getting on the roads should be avoided unless absolutely necessary. This evening in particular might bring quite a bit of rain, so everyone will want to remain inside.

As before, you can follow updates on emergency.rice.edu.

Paula and I have been visiting all across campus, and every student we have talked with has been in good spirits. The upside to this whole situation has been a shared experience resulting in a social-bonding opportunity. The storm has brought everyone together and strengthened our ties to one another. I expect this to continue on into the evening, as many of the colleges are planning “watch parties” in their commons for the Rice-Stanford football game. Rain permitting, Paula and I are going to visit as many of these parties as possible. I’ll try to post some photos to my Facebook page!

Go Owls!
Dean Hutch