LSU elected to close campus and move Wednesday and Thursday classes online ahead of dangerous weather from then Tropical Storm Francine, which has since been upgraded to Hurricane Francine. It was expected to make landfall in central-south Louisiana sometime Wednesday with Category 2 strength.
The decision to move classes online and not cancel schooling altogether inspired some strong reactions in the LSU community.
“Can’t wait to get told to turn on my zoom camera while my roof gets torn off my apartment,” said computer science junior and Speaker Pro Tempore of the Student Senate Ethan Elmer in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
His sentiment was shared by other commenters on X and a sizable number of students and faculty before they left frustrated on Tuesday.
To them, it doesn’t make sense to rely on a system wherein faculty often had little time to prepare and are dependent on favorable internet, and more broadly, both parties having not lost their power.
Assistant Vice President of Marketing & Communications Kristine C. Sanders said the university came to this decision because if more than one day of class is canceled, the university is required to make up those missed days. That could have an impact on fall break or necessitate Saturday make-up classes like in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida.
“We recognize that some students may have issues logging on in this situation, and that some faculty or students could potentially lose power or internet during the storm,” Sanders said in a statement. “So we are urging students who have difficulties to stay in direct contact with their professors so they can discuss individual needs.”
She said LSU has a remote learning plan that addresses this situation. She added that this conclusion came at a balance to preserve LSU’s educational mission while keeping its community safe.