Classes Return Thursday, Commuters Might Not

Fallen tree takes down power lines, traffic light. (Matthew Sinofsky)

Although Belmont’s classes will resume on Thursday, some commuter students aren’t sure if they’ll be able to attend. 

“I think we’re all still in survival mode with school on the back of our minds,” said Shelby King, a Belmont commuter student. 

Unlike residential Belmont students, many commuter students are still having trouble accessing their assignments and traveling to campus. Although professors will have the option of conducting online or in-person classes, those concerned with travel and those without power will have difficulties joining either way. 

King, along with Jacob Harvey, another commuter, said they feel uncomfortable driving in the current road conditions and probably won’t drive until Monday. 

“I can't afford to buy another car if I wreck my car on ice,” said Harvey. 

Ice isn’t commuters’ only obstacle; many roads are still blocked by fallen trees. 

“NDOT crews are currently out treating secondary and post-secondary routes. Many secondary and post-secondary routes are currently impacted by trees and limbs down in the right-of-way due to ice,” according to Nashville’s Office of Emergency Management’s website. 

However, there is no exact timeline for when roads will be fully accessible.  

Since temperatures are projected to remain below freezing until Monday, it is likely that many roads will remain icy. 

Back roads are especially likely to be unsafe, because “they never get salted, and they never get touched,” said Harvey, who drives these kinds of roads consistently. 

In addition to unsafe roads, commuter students face continued power outages. 

Though the Nashville Electric Service has restored power to 123,000 customers, there are still over 100,000 others without power as of Wednesday morning, according to a post on its X account. 

Harvey has been without power for almost 90 hours and is forced to do homework on his phone.  

“It's harder for me to focus... If I had to do this all of next week on my phone? No, thanks, I would not feel confident. I would be focused on more survival,” said Harvey. 

In an email, University Communications acknowledged the challenges that some students continue to face and recommended that these students contact their professors to communicate their needs.

"Faculty are working to ensure all students have opportunities to make up missed work and stay on track with our planned academic calendar," the email read.

This article was written by Olivia Abernathy