Students kept from homework by outage

Freshman John Holmes has a chemistry midterm today. But he doesn't think he'll do well. He doesn't have his books with him or any of his class notes.\nAfter barely stepping into his Wright Quad room Monday night, Holmes was told to go back outside along with his floormates. Wright, Teter, Ashton and other dorms on the South side of campus were evacuated Monday night after a widespread power outage plunged the dorms into total darkness for nearly two hours. \n"When I walked in, the lights were already out," Holmes said. "I was immediately told to go back outside."\nOthers had already been outside for about 20 minutes when Holmes got home. Along with other residents of Wright's 19 houses, Holmes did not get a chance to grab everything he needed to study for his test.\nWith midterm exams and papers looming above student's heads, the power outage came as an unwelcome surprise. After standing outside for about a half hour, resident assistants told students to go to the library or to the Student Recreational Sports Complex to keep warm. \n"Hopefully, we won't be spending the night out here," said freshman Ian Fekete, who is a Wright Quad resident. \nFekete was part of a group of about 10 who congregated together at the Main Library after being evacuated from their dorm. But his wish came true a little less than two hours after the students were evacuated: the lights came on and the students were let in their rooms. \nFreshman Lauren Goode had the time to grab her coat and her flashlight about 8:10 p.m. when the lights first went out. But the sandals she wears inside stayed on her feet. The freshman apparel merchandising major was writing a paper, on which she had been working for some time. But she lost it after her computer also went off, she said. \n"We didn't know what was going on," Goode said. "We thought we'd go back inside soon."\nGoode -- now without her books or notes for her paper, hopes that professors will be lenient on work not turned in on time because of the evacuation.\nDean of Students Richard McKaig said professors normally determine work exemptions on a case by case basis. \n"Each professor will decide on a course of action and inform his or her students," McKaig said. \nFreshman business major Lauren Briski was just as unlucky as her friend Goode. She was in the process of doing a K201 project for Tuesday. \n"One moment, everything was on: the TV, the computer, the overhead lights," Briski said. "But then the lights flickered and it all went off one by one."\nThe two were told not to expect to return to their rooms anytime soon after they had been outside for about a half hour. \nLike Holmes, Briski, and Goode, others also worry about homework left on their desks and time they could have used to study. Students were restless and hoped not to spend the night outside of their dorms. Many did not have anything but their student IDs, coats, and cellphones with them. Others were lucky to have been coming from class or practice with their books with them like sophomore Kevin Lloyd. He was returning from a guitar lesson at the School of Music, where the lights flickered and eventually went off altogether, he said. His only homework for Tuesday -- physics -- was in his backpack, half-finished from Sunday. He ate before his lesson, so he wasn't too worried about not spending the night in his room. \n"I imagine lots of students aren't in the same situation," Lloys said. "I just plan on chilling here the entire night if I have to."\nDespite the negative attitude surrounding her, Goode kept a positive outlook on the experience.\n"We'll just have to tough it out and have fun," she said.