Shaw University Shuts Down For Semester After Tornado

RALEIGH, N.C. - Due to extensive damage from the tornado and storms that hit Raleigh on Saturday, Shaw University in downtown Raleigh will be closed for the rest of the semester, although graduation will proceed as planned.

The school made the announcement through its website today.

“While I knew that the situation was adverse during the evening, daylight has revealed that it will be impossible for us to safely conduct classes and return to business as usual,” said Dr. Irma McLaurin, President of Shaw University. “Thus, I have made the difficult decision of suspending classes for the remainder of the semester.”

The school said it would would officially close at noon today (April 17, 2011).





Damage at Shaw sends students home

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Hours after scrambling off campus to escape a devastating storm, students at Shaw University returned Sunday, only to gather their belongings and head home. They won't return for months.

Classes at Shaw are canceled, and the university is closed for the remainder of spring semester as a result of Saturday's storm, which dismantled buildings on the school's downtown campus and displaced almost 150 students.

"The campus is difficult to navigate, trees are down and glass is everywhere," Shaw President Dr. Irma McClaurin said Sunday. "... Many students are in shock."

Shaw officials said a tornado touched down directly over the quad between 4 and 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

Two students were taken to the hospital with injuries. Others were forced to take refuge for the night in the gymnasium at Southeast Raleigh High School.

NCSU Campus considered lucky, 'dodges bullet'

A severe storm cell swept across North Carolina Saturday, killing 22 and injuring 130 others as several tornadoes touched down across the region. Areas of Raleigh hit hardest were South Saunders Street, Stony Brook mobile home park, where three people died, and the area around Shaw University.

Irma McClaurin, President of Shaw University, released a letter to all students and parents stating that the university would be closed for the remainder of the semester. According to McClaurin, Shaw "students will be graded on the work they have accomplished to date. The Math and English Competency Exam requirements are suspended for this semester only."

The storms that hit North Carolina were part of a three-day ordeal that hit the southern United States, killing more than forty people in total. North Carolina was hit the hardest and has the highest number of casualties, with 20 counties facing significant damage and over 200,000 people without power.

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