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© 2011 N.C. State Student Media.
Freshman in textiles Jazsalyn McNeil stuffs tree branches into a bag at Shaw University Thursday, April 21, 2011. McNeil posted a Facebook status asking how to get involved and found out that N.C. State students were going to be helping clean up the university. "A bunch of people said they were coming out to [Shaw], plus, my mom graduated from here so I wanted to help," McNeil said. Photo by Jordan Moore
Despite 25 tornadoes touching down in North Carolina last weekend, destroying over 138 Raleigh homes and costing millions in damages, N.C. State was virtually unaffected by the April 16 tornadoes.
But not everyone in downtown Raleigh was as fortunate.
Shaw University was one of the hardest hit areas of the city, with the storms causing so much damage to the university’s buildings its president was forced to close the university for the remainder of the semester.
In an effort to clear the extensive debris from its campus, Shaw University hosted a cleanup day April 21, drawing in more than 800 students, alumni and members of the general community.
According to Julius Cromwell, a ‘58 Shaw alum and volunteer at the event, students and alumni from the following universities helped with the cleanup: Clemson, N.C. State, Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, Peace College, Meredith College, North Carolina Central University, N.C. A&T, St. Augustine and Winston Salem State University.
“Right now we are in dire need of help, and the fact that all of these colleges came out here—especially our arch rivals St. Augustine—speaks volume,” Cromwell said.
Cromwell said while so many people came out to help that day, the extensive damages could not be cleared in one day, and more help is needed.
“We came out here because of our love for Shaw. Some of us graduated 50 years ago, and have been involved with the university ever since,” Cromwell said. “What we really need is for people to come here with their crews and help cut down these fallen trees and remove the logs that we are trying to do.”
Cromwell said he hopes the campus will be ready to reopen for students in September.
Other volunteers like Dorine Yelton, an ’82 N.C. State alumna said they shared similar sentiments.
“It [volunteering] seemed easy, like you wouldn’t need to have any kind of skill,” Yelton said. “I thought it was a shame they had to close campus, and for all of those students to have to lose the rest of their semester. We were spared in the storm, so we wanted to help those who weren’t.”
Jazsalyn McNeil, a freshman in fashion textile management, said she also decided to volunteer at the event because the disaster physically hit close to home.
“There were serious tornadoes all around the state, and they just missed us,” McNeil said. “We’re so blessed, and because of that I knew I had to help.”
To help provide more resources for those affected by the storms, President Barack Obama declared North Carolina a disaster area April 19. Through this action, people in several counties, Wake County included, are eligible to receive federal and nonprofit funding for rebuilding purposes.
But the funding is not limited to what is received from the federal government. According to Dixon, several alumni chapters dedicated their time last week to host fundraisers for Shaw University and other universities in the area.
Melody Davis, administrative assistant for Shaw’s career development center, also said their university received $50,000 from the General Baptist State Headquarters last Thursday.
Chandler Thompson, junior in economics and recently elected student body president, joined the efforts as part of Universities United, a multi-campus organization designed to pool resources to help rebuild the area.
“The turnout from N.C. State students was great. Even though we were on holiday, over 100 volunteers came out to help,” Thompson said. “There is still work to be done here. It’s not a fun job, but it needs to be done.”