Trevecca campus battling ice and fallen trees as heat fails in resident halls

Lauren Steinbrook

News and Engagement Editor

Trevecca students are bunking with friends, sleeping in classrooms and showering in locker rooms as four university residence halls were left without heat and power following an ice storm Sunday, forcing dozens of students to seek temporary housing. 

Bush, Redford, Shingler and Benson Hall were among the buildings affected after freezing rain caused fallen trees, power outages and unsafe conditions throughout Trevecca Nazarene University’s campus. 

According to Associate Dean for Residential Life Zack Church, a part of the western edge of campus, including Benson Hall, the Shingler/Redford/Bush apartment buildings, and the Arts Annex and Urban Farm area, operates on a different power grid than the rest of campus. 

According to university officials, stress on this grid began Sunday when buildings started receiving reduced power. Lights were noticeably dimmer, and heating systems in some apartments were unable to draw enough wattage to function properly.

While most of Benson Hall retained partial power for much of Sunday, residents in the apartment buildings experienced a complete loss of heat. Legacy apartment residents were relocated Sunday afternoon, either staying with friends or being assigned available temporary housing as space allowed.

To accommodate Benson Hall residents whose rooms were not warm enough, the university opened Boone Convocation Center as an overnight option. Students choosing to stay there were required to sign waivers acknowledging the conditions.  According to Church, only about seven students stayed in Boone, and those students were relocated later Sunday evening to empty apartments at University Terrace Apartments on the northeast edge of campus.

By Monday morning, the affected power grid lost electricity entirely. With Boone struggling to maintain safe temperatures, remaining Benson Hall residents were relocated to the McClurkan building. The handful of apartment residents who had initially chosen to remain were also moved.

TrevEchoes sports editor Parker Henningsen has been also overseeing residents of Benson as part of his resident assistant role. He said that residents of Benson had to be out Monday night by 9 p.m. He said that Benson was locked up last night, and many of the residents moved to the McClurkin building, sleeping in classrooms and in the Benson auditorium. 

Henningsen said that the residents brought their mattresses from their dorms into the classrooms. 

“We brought a lot of board games. Some people brought their gaming consoles, but the WiFi crashed within like 30 minutes or an hour of us being there, so very quickly, those did not work very well,” said Henningsen.  “Some people brought their laptops, and we were doing homework for a while. We also had access to the projectors. There was one room where the guys who hooked their computer up and were watching movies on the projector in the classroom.” 

According to Henningsen, the residents were told to be out of McClurkin by 9:30 am and were allowed back into Benson. 

“We’re currently waiting until around four or five o’clock today to hear the latest news on the weather and if the power is going to come back on,” said Henningsen. “As of right this minute, we still do not have power. Nothing works.”

According to Church, in total, 186 students live in Benson Hall this semester, with 114 students residing in the three affected apartment buildings. The church says roughly 30 percent of those students left campus before the storm, while the remaining residents had to be relocated.

“I’m staying with my friends in the flats [Off-campus Apartments],” said Campbell Johnson, senior marketing major who lives in Redford Hall. “I feel fine, it could have been way worse. It really has not been challenging, especially since the cafeteria and library are open.” 

Church said that because there is no power in Benson, they have opened up one of the locker rooms in the gym to make sure students have access to showers if they need it. 

“I would want to give a special shout-out to our residents in our other halls,” said Church. “By the time we knew we needed to relocate residents, many students in Johnson, Georgia, Tennessee, Wise, and University Commons had already opened up their spaces to friends to take them in. This made the relocation effort substantially easier, and I have been proud of how our students have handled this whole situation!” 

Henningsen said that rooms on the fourth floor of Benson have begun leaking due to melting ice on the roof, causing water damage in several rooms. 

“We’re fighting leaking roofs, no power, and alternate places to sleep and shower,” said Henningsen. 

The icy conditions have caused trees and large branches to fall across campus, damaging vehicles and blocking roads. As of Tuesday afternoon, no student injuries had been reported, but multiple cars and areas of campus property sustained damage.

Trevecca’s emergency alert system sent out a message telling students and staff not to walk under the trees and stay inside as much as possible. 

The campus disruptions reflect broader conditions across Middle Tennessee. According to Nashville Electric Service, more than 200,000 Davidson County residents were without power Sunday, with 136,000 still affected as of Monday. Church said the scale of countywide outages has prevented NES from providing a timeline for restoration, as new outages continue to occur from ice and fallen trees.

Several emails were sent from University Provost Tom Middendorf, addressing the worsening conditions and announcing that Monday and Tuesday classes would be canceled. 

“I appreciate your patience as we navigate the impact of the recent winter storm. The roads remain hazardous, and we are responding to power outages, downed trees, and icy conditions on campus,” said Middendorf in an email sent Monday afternoon. 

University officials urged students and employees to remain indoors due to hazardous travel conditions. Campus sidewalks are reported to be extremely icy.

“Travel is hazardous across middle Tennessee,” Middendorf wrote. “We want to encourage employees and students to stay in until the roads become safer.”

Despite the closure, some campus services will remain open. Residence halls, the cafeteria and the library will continue operating, though hours may be limited. According to Middendorf’s email, Online classes will proceed as scheduled, while graduate in-person students will receive alternative instructions from program leaders.

“I have enjoyed the snow days,” said Johnson. “Being inside and playing board games and reading. I don’t like to go out in the snow though.”

University officials said they will continue monitoring conditions and provide updates through Trevecca email alerts.