TAMUG news!

TO EVERYONE I TAGGED IN THIS NOTE -
Please share this information with your fellow Sea Aggies. Thank you!
Originally Posted 6:30 p.m., Sunday, September 14, 2008

The current situation: TAMUG officials were granted limited access to the Mitchell Campus on Pelican Island and the Fort Crockett campus on Sunday. Initial reports are that our campuses fared well during Hurricane Ike; however, we will be sending assessment teams of engineers and facility specialists from College Station to conduct a building-by-building analysis over the next two days. On the Mitchell Campus, there is some damage, but it appears to be repairable at this point.
We know that the roadway leading to the bridge to campus has eroded and is impassable at the current time. The roof to Mariner Hall has been partially damaged, as has the roof to the Sea Aggie Center. The academic buildings appear to have made it through the storm relatively unscathed, other than some broken glass. There is no evidence of the storm surge reaching these buildings.At Fort Crockett, one of the highest points on Galveston Island, we did not see any visible structural or water damage. We have not been able to access the Teichman campus as of Sunday afternoon.The key point to emphasize is that the City of Galveston’s infrastructure has been severely damaged, according to preliminary reports. This means that we are unsure as to when the island will have basic services such as electricity, water, sewer and telecommunications.

In addition, the approaches to the causeway from the mainland to Galveston Island have been compromised by debris. Public access is prohibited at this time.Our current plans:Our campus will remain closed throughout this week. Our next steps depend greatly upon the campus facility assessments, as well as the availability of basic services on Galveston Island.Be assured that the Aggie Spirit is alive and well, and we have begun implementing our contingency plan for the continuation of the fall semester at Texas A&M University in College Station. We will be able to share much more information about this implementation over the next two days.

The next update: Please continue to monitor www.tamug.edu for the latest official information from our administration. We are working to have our plans for the fall semester finalized by Wednesday, and provide several days’ notice for our faculty, staff and students.