WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Some Wake Forest University students say they felt left in limbo as the university canceled classes for several days and encouraged some to evacuate due to the Weaver Fertilizer Plant fire in Winston-Salem.
“We are getting like all different things from professors too,” said sophomore Tatum Pike. "(Tuesday) I got an email from my professor saying we are having class in person (classes) on Wednesday and then 20 minutes later we got a call from the school saying classes are canceled.”
The Wake Forest campus is not in the one-mile evacuation radius, but some off-campus housing is in that area. Some students who live on-campus decided to leave out of concern for their health.
“The lack of communication about it has really made a lot of people nervous because (…) we don’t really know what we are doing,” said sophomore Jack Linde. “We’re trying to figure out like can we go back? (…) Clearly we’ve adapted to difficult situations in the past so I’m sure we can do it again.”
Pike and Linde went with their friend Taylor Schutt to Greensboro. Schutt was staying with her parents.
"They kind of just said for us to stay on campus but my parents (...) called and said if you can get out and come to Greensboro, (do it)," Schutt said.
Schutt said it's been nice to be home with her family, but it's still a scary situation.
“It was definitely stressful and I mean we're college students, we have stressful days already but hearing that (the plant could explode) was anxiety on 100, not knowing what was gonna happen. It's terrifying,” said Taylor Schutt, a sophomore at Wake Forest.
Wake Forest canceled classes Tuesday and Wednesday but says it will resume in-person instruction on Thursday. A change.org petition has been created to cancel classes Thursday.
“It is both irresponsible and unacceptable for the Wake Forest administration to resume classes,” reads the petition.
Schutt said there has been a lot of challenges has someone who started college in 2020.
“It’s been a crazy semester already with some COVID scares, lots of snow, unfortunately, some gun threats, and now this,” Schutt said. “Also just being a sophomore during COVID, it’s been crazy. Hopefully, it gets better.”