Power Outage Incites Chaos on Second Day of Classes

Many students were just getting into the swing of things on Thursday, September 5th – reflecting on their syllabi or preparing for their night classes, when an unexpected message came in. “From St. Catherine University: The St. Paul campus will have a power outage TODAY from 4:45-9 pm. Please shut down computers and equipment during this time,” it read.

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Email sent to students regarding power outage.

Reactions varied, but from the vantage point of the Center for Women in the Coeur de Catherine (CDC), tensions steadily rose. Public Safety Officers were seen rushing in and out of the office, coordinating emergency lighting. Faculty and staff deliberated the status of late afternoon meetings. Then came the second notice: “From St. Catherine University: Classes on the St. Paul campus this evening (9/5) are CANCELLED.” Commuter students that had come to campus solely to attend a night class protested the sudden cancellation. Questions arose of a cancellation as early as the second day of class. Resident students, especially first year students new to campus, wondered about the availability of dining services. The Pulse was closed while the cafeteria maintained limited operations.

Minutes later, a third message was sent, revealing the potential reason for the outage: “From St. Catherine University: St Paul Bookstore & Library also closed. Avoid using elevators. Apologies for late notice of the outage driven by Xcel.” Elevator restrictions raised questions about safety and accessibility for individuals unable to use the stairs. This message also represented the first clue about the potential source of the sudden outage, previously unknown to the community.

Staff and students shut down their computers at 4:45 p.m., waiting for the impending power cut.  However, there was a lag. Lights in the CDC weren’t shut off until approximately 5:05 p.m.. The magnets that held main doorways were released, and doors slammed shut around the building, their echoes exaggerated by the sudden silence.

Some students left the now darkened residence halls, with many packing up and heading home for the night. Lack of Wi-Fi created homework concerns, and many students dreaded a late night of post-nine p,m. homework. The fire system beeped temporarily from the control box in Georgia apartments, alerting that there was something amiss. Resident Advisors conducted hourly rounds of every building between 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., ensuring that there were no fire concerns.  

Power was restored to some buildings at 5:45 p.m., surprising those remaining on campus. However, students prepared themselves for the possibility of more cuts. Vice President and Director of Public Safety, Security and Facilities Mark Johnson and a team of electricians addressed remaining power issues throughout campus. A final message was sent at 8:54 p.m.  reading “St. Catherine University: The electrical issue has been fixed & power restored to the St. Paul campus. Thank you again for your patience during this time.” 

This power cut is yet another in a series of incidents that raises questions on university-wide communication systems in response to emergencies. The last-minute nature of the notice left many community members wondering about accountability. Lilly Bendel-Stenzel (Psychology Major, ‘19) expressed confusion the morning after the outage: “I still don’t know if this is a St. Kate’s thing or an Xcel thing – so I want to know where to direct my anger before I start just yelling at people.”

Laura Perri (Social Work, ’21), a student worker in Residence Life and a resident student reflected on the experience in the halls: “I saw Public Safety walking around with lanterns and glow sticks for the buildings.” She questioned the relationship between this outage and the one experienced last spring in Mendel and Caecelian, when the power was cut to the buildings at around 10 p.m., not to be restored until noon the next day.

A September 6 call to Xcel Energy revealed that the outage may not have been as planned as originally communicated. A representative from Xcel energy shared that no report was made about the outage, and that there were no planned outages scheduled for September 5 in St. Paul. The one fact confirmed by the representative was, “Xcel always calls,” in the event of an outage. The lack of record and last minute notice may just indicate that that call was made a little later than desired on the afternoon of September 5.

• Edit: On Monday, September 9, 2019, at 3: 23PM, four days after the original power outage, Mark Johnson, Vice President of Safety, Security, and Facilities sent out a mass email to all students apologizing for the power issues.