The Vanderbilt community received emails on Jan. 5 and Jan. 6 concerning an unexpected Commodore Card outage and winter weather advisory, respectively.
On the evening of Jan. 5, students reported not being able to access their residence halls or purchase food using their Commodore Cards. In an email sent around 8 p.m. CST on Jan. 5, the Office of Housing and Residential Experience (OHARE) instructed students affected by the outage to contact their residential advisor (RA) on duty for issues with building access and to email the Office of the Dean of Students for issues with meal access.
“My RA on duty got a lot of calls about the issue and warned me not to leave [the dorm],” senior Abby Schultz said in a message to The Hustler. “But dining was really helpful about issuing refunds, and it seemed like the RAs and area coordinators were really on top of making sure everyone got back inside.”
Schultz said that the cards started working again sometime after 11 p.m. CST that day. However, she also noted that some students appeared to still have issues with meal swipes the morning of Jan. 6.
On Jan. 6, Dean of Students G.L. Black issued an email sharing details concerning a Winter Storm Warning issued for the Nashville area in effect until 8 p.m. CST today. According to the National Weather Service Nashville, between four and seven inches of snow fell in the Nashville area earlier this afternoon.
As a result of the snow, the COVID-19 Testing Center and Student Health Center closed early, while Campus Dining hours remain unchanged. Black also clarified some details of the snow removal plan and the facilities department.
“[The] goal is not to completely clear the sidewalks, but to have at least one travelable pathway on all primary sidewalks,” the email reads.
Schultz added that the weather in Nashville is complicating the Commodore Card issues and making the situation more dangerous for students.
“My friends and I were worried about the people stuck out in the cold because we didn’t know how long it would last,” she said.
Umar Sohail, a first-year international student from Pakistan, echoed Schultz’s concern but also said he was excited when he first heard about the potential for snow on campus.
“Snow makes commuting difficult especially since Rand is the only place to get food on campus, but it’s honestly fun to see because I don’t get too much snow where I come from,” Sohail said.
