As many of you know, this last week encompassed many different weather events. One minute it was sunny and the next minute it was snowing. However, the highlight of the week was the tornado that came through campus the night of Jan. 29.

This was my first experience with this type of weather -- ever since elementary school we were taught how to behave in a tornado. Despite years of learning the same precautions, I realized that what we had been learning was unnecessary for what was experienced here.

That Tuesday started out unseasonably warm. I was wearing a sweatshirt and had no need for my winter coat for the first half of the day. Tuesday is my late day, with a 6:30 p.m. public speaking class. As I walked into Jordan the temperature was still in the low 50s.

It was my group’s day to present our introductions for our speeches, and I was scheduled to be the fourth speaker. I had read no more than three sentences off my note card when I heard the sirens.

Since the sirens are usually tested on Friday mornings, we all wondered what was going on. Our professor asked me to stop my speech while he went to see if the sirens had gone off by accident or if there was an approaching tornado. A minute later he returned and said to gather our things and head to the basement, as a tornado had been sighted four blocks away on Meridian Street.

In previous years, I had been taught that when a tornado came, we were supposed to grab a hardcover book and go in the hallway. We were then supposed to kneel down, open the books and cover our head and necks with them. That night, as everyone went down into the Jordan basement, I wasn’t sure what to expect.

We were told not to leave, although a considerable amount of students were able to escape back to their dorms before the storm got any worse. Once we were all down in the basement everyone basically sat down and relaxed. Some attempted phone calls, but the signal was too weak. No one followed the routine that I had been taught for the last decade.

After about 20 minutes of waiting we all decided that it was over and safe to go outside. The only damage that was heard of was a fallen tree, and that an air-conditioning unit had been blown away from a window. When I walked outside and back to Schwitzer, the temperature had dropped about 30 degrees and within an hour ice would be forming on cars.

So overall, no one here really took any safety precautions similar to those that I had learned earlier. And surprisingly, it was not necessary as the architecture of Jordan and many of the other campus buildings are strong enough to protect everyone. It was definitely an interesting experience.