Students had mixed reactions on procedures taken by the university when the tornado sirens on campus went off Tuesday morning.
The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning around 10:15 a.m. for Delaware County, with sirens going off 10 to 15 minutes later.
The tornado warning expired at 10:45 a.m. and Delaware County was in a high wind advisory that expired at 8 p.m. Tuesday night.
While some students followed instructions that were given by their professors, resident assistants or bosses, other students were not sure where to go.
"I was asleep when and heard the sirens so I got up and didn't know what to do," freshman Japanese and pre-medicine major Danielle Oquendo said. "I saw people running out of the shower seeking shelter."
Oquendo said after a couple minutes of uncertainty, students were told to go to the first floor of their hall, where they were told to go to the basement for extra caution.
"My [resident assistant] was outside getting wet and yelling at people to run inside," she said.
Delaware County Emergency Management Agency Director Jason Rogers said that as of Tuesday afternoon it was hard to say how much damage the storm had caused. He said a storm watcher reported spotting a funnel cloud on the south side of Muncie, but reports to confirm it could take up to 72 hours.
The National Weather Service confirmed three tornadoes in Indiana, one near Kokomo, one in Huntington County and another in Wabash County.
At Ball State, some 10 a.m. classes were canceled, with faculty sending students to shelter while others continued with their lessons. Shuttles stopped running for 20 to 30 minutes while the warning was in effect.
Gary Moses, supervisor of bus operations, said shuttles had to return to the transportation garage for the safety of bus drivers and passengers.
Some students, such as freshman speech pathology major Lydia Etzler, said she was at work in North Quad when the sirens went off, but she didn't know about the warning until her boss told her and she went to the lowest level with other students for shelter.
"People were just peeking their heads out the doors to see what was going on, but no one was really panicked," she said. "Living in this area, just expect this kind of change in weather."
Freshman vocal performance major Chelsey Brewer said she was in Hargreaves Music Building when the warning was active, but she didn't hear the sirens until a professor approached the students.
"A professor asked us to go downstairs to the basement," she said. "I was kind of surprised they didn't send an e-mail or text message. I think faculty did a good job telling us what to do, but Ball State could have sent a text or an e-mail."
The Ball State website says that because weather notifications have a short time frame and severe storms are difficult to predict, the emergency notification system will not be used to alert campus about severe weather watches, warnings or tornadoes.
Tony Proudfoot, associate vice president for Marketing and Communications, said the university relies on the source, which students can access through weather forecast websites.
"Public safety personnel are not notified much earlier than the public," he said. "Services like emergencyemail.org are in much better position to give out information. We want faculty, staff and students to get the best up-to-date information on what's happening."
Proudfoot said that while halls do not have tornado drills, they provide safety information to residents, which is covered in hall opening meetings. Procedures are also revisited in the spring.
Students can also visit bsu.edu/prepared for more information on what to do for different emergencies.
Rogers said students living off campus should also be prepared for hazardous weather.
"Everybody needs to have a plan," he said. "Make sure that you watch local media outlets, and we encourage everyone to have a hazard radio. You can put it on top of fridge to hear alerts of severe weather warnings or any information that is deemed necessary."
Quad Talk:
Tornado Warning: Where were you, and what did you do?
"I was at a friend's dorm at Park Hall. We didn't hear the siren, but an RA said we were supposed to go to the basement."
Kara Miller, sophomore telecommunications major
"I was in my room in LaFollette. At first I just ignored [the siren] but people had us go downstairs."
Cristina Melendez, freshman public relations major
"I was in the music building, I had just gotten out of class. I didn't hear the sirens, but there was a lot of people standing near the entrance and a professor asked us to go downstairs to the basement."
Chelsey Brewer, freshman voice performance major
"I was at the library. I heard the sirens go off, but I stayed where I was and then people were starting to get asked to go down to the lower level."
David Myers, junior philosophy and religious studies major
"I was at West Quad working. My boss came and said the sirens were going off so we walked down to the basement."
Lydia Etzler, freshman speech pathology major
"I was asleep and heard the sirens, so I got up and didn't know what to do. I saw people running out of the shower seeking shelter."
Danielle Oquendo, freshman Japanese and pre-medicine major
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