By: Aisha Marilyn Abdulbary-Knotts | Staff Writer
Burton Dining Hall amid power outage; Photo via Ellie Simmers
In the aftermath of snowstorm Fern, the University of Lynchburg experienced a campus-wide power outage that began early Tuesday morning, disrupting residence halls, dining services, and daily operations. According to the university, power was cut around 3 a.m. and officially restored at approximately 10 p.m. that evening.
University staff worked throughout the day to address the outage and restore power as quickly as possible. Facilities personnel coordinated response efforts and worked with the local power company to assess the issue and restore power to the campus. Updates were shared as restoration efforts continued.
Despite the outage, several campus services remained operational to support students. Given the frigid temperatures, warming stations were set up in the East and West Rooms, the Health Sciences Building, the Spiritual Life Center (500 Brevard St), and the Southside Laundry House (504 Westwood). The Burton Dining continued serving hot meals throughout the day, ensuring students had access to food even with limited power. In residence halls, Community Assistants kept doors open to help students enter and exit buildings safely while electronic access systems were down.
Westover Hall amid the power outage; Photo via Aisha Knotts
Students shared a range of reactions to the outage, noting both frustrations and response efforts. Willow Martin ’26 commented on campus conditions during the disruption.
“I think they probably could have better prepped the roads and gravel lot with salt brine maybe. Although I know there’s not much to do about the gravel lot to be honest. I saw AEP earlier today so at least they got people out relatively quickly,” Martin said.
Other students focused on maintaining perspective during the interruption. Skyler Hypes ’29 emphasized the importance of staying optimistic.
“I think it’s really unfortunate and annoying, but hopefully the power comes back on and things return to normal soon. I think it’s very important to stay positive!” Hypes said.
Some students pointed to communication as an area for improvement. Myah Forest ’27 expressed concerns about the university’s response timeline.
“I don’t really feel bad that deeply about the outage, but I feel like communication could definitely be better as well as response time,” Forest said.
After power was restored late in the evening, campus operations began returning to normal. The outage highlighted both the challenges of unexpected infrastructure disruptions and the ways university staff and student leaders worked to maintain safety and access to essential services during the disruption.
Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Chip Walton, noted when the power was restored that, “Today’s win was truly a community effort, and we are so grateful for a team that is so deeply committed to each other’s success.”
P.S.: The Critograph would like to thank the faculty and staff who worked tirelessly to support students and together made a difficult day on campus feel a little easier.
