Kelli Carter ~ Guest Writer
The devastation of Hurricane Dorian hit close to home at the University of Lynchburg with Bahmamian students being intimately affected by the storm.
Hurricane Dorian was a category 5 tropical cyclone that destroyed the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama Island when the storm made landfall in the Bahamas on Sept. 1. According to weather.com, “Many building blocks of everyday life – schools, hospitals, gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants – are gone or badly damaged. If they survived the storm, many are still without power or water.”
This storm has changed the way that Bahamians are reflecting on the idea of home. Senior, Brennae Sprence, a Communication major at the University of Lynchburg, has been greatly affected by this storm.
Spence said, “I was literally with my family one week before the storm hit and we had no idea that the storm was going to hit us. I remember I was in senior sym or something like that and I was getting texts from my parents because my dad stayed in our house while my mom and two younger siblings were more inland. It was kinda weird because my dad had to run out of the house because he saw the water starting to rise.”
She also said, “I tried not to be on social media that much when all of this was happening. Friends of friends were posting like this person is in their attic, so if anyone has a boat, please go there. At one point, I was watching the news and they said that 70% of the island is underwater. That really hit me because I grew up on that island. I just can’t even imagine.”
Organizations across campus are rallying to provide aid to the Bahamas. Kappa Delta sorority decided to donate a portion of their shirt profits to a relief fund in the Bahamas.
Stephanie Squaranto, the Vice President for Public Relations for Kappa Delta, said, “I feel really bad for what happened in the Bahamas and felt that by donating what we could to help would go a long way. It is very hard to imagine losing everything so I knew that we as a sisterhood should give back.”
In addition, a fund has been established through Lynchburg Cares in the Spiritual Life Center to assist Spence and her family.