YOUR VOICE: Students share experiences during Winter Storm Uri
The Signal reached out to see how those in the UHCL community were affected by Winter Storm Uri. We collected the responses through a Google Form. All responses are published as is with only minimal corrections for style, grammar, punctuation and clarity.
Many described how they lost power and water for multiple days.
Students like Lisbett Zavala, education major, expressed how unprepared Houston is as a whole for such weather.
“Houston is not prepared for this type of weather,” Zavala said. “Some homes had no water at all while others watched it gush from burst pipes into their hallways and living rooms. I never thought we would be in this situation. No one is prepared; it is dangerous. Days with no power, no water, broken pipes, ruined homes and so much damage. This has been probably one of the worst experiences I’ve had.”
Eda Kivrak, early childhood education major, described the storm as a horrifying experience.
“This storm was a terrifying and nerve-racking experience as it was unexpected,” Kivrak said. “All I cared about was trying to get warm and get some food. We had to go stay at a friend’s house to shower and sleep one night in a warm environment. ”
“We were without power, water and internet services for four days,” Whitmore said. “My mother is bedridden so we had to locate a generator in order to be sure she stayed warm, oxygen was available, and her bed stayed inflated. We did on the second day and she survived.”
Audrey Delp, mathematics major, recounted a similar story.
“No electricity for 78 hours, no water for a little more than four days, under boil notice for two days after the water was restored,” Delp said. “Had to throw away a week’s worth of food and spend hundreds of dollars on take out, expensive bottled water because all of the cheaper water was gone), and expensive meats (because the cheaper options were sold out).
“My mother and father had to come stay with us for the first two days of the storm, when we had power, because their power went out and their home does not hold heat well. We also have a fireplace to help keep our place warm. My father is in stage 5 kidney failure and was in the process of getting dialysis set up and then the storm hit. I had a total of 10 people, including children, staying in my three-bedroom townhome. We have recovered and had little to no damage sustained by the storm. We had to use some of our savings to make ends meet, but we are going to be alright. We are so much more fortunate than many others.”
“My house was without power for 2-3 days. Temperatures were below freezing and we could not heat any food. We had to throw away a lot of food and it was hard to find food to eat during the power outages. It also prevented me from participating in school because we did not have power. ”
-Gabriela Broussard, interdisciplinary studies core subjects 4-8 major
Kristen Haag, psychology major, recounted how both herself and her children got through the storm.
“My home in Pearland lost power from the beginning, Sunday night, and didn’t get it back until Tuesday morning,” Haag said. “I have two little kids and having to live an entire day and night in the cold with no electricity was difficult. Thankfully we had everything we needed in terms of food and water and also have a gas fireplace and stove, which we used. The kids thought it was fun using the fireplace and flashlights, but the experience was pretty stressful for me and my husband, who had to deal with the actual logistics of making due.
“The situation in Houston in general was very frustrating because most of the downtown area had electricity and was wasting it while millions were freezing in their homes. Even my neighbors right across the street from my house were on a different power grid and had electricity. Having to live like we’re in a third world country, here in the U.S. is ridiculous. But, it does help me to appreciate more the luxuries we have in a way.”
Christina Acevedo, cross-cultural and global studies major, described the entire week of the storm as very difficult.
“The days leading up to the storm we were trying to make preparations, which meant a lot of looking at different stores attempting to locate supplies,” Acevedo said. “The Sunday waiting for the storm was very tense. I woke up to find that my father had lost power and all utilities. I spent all day trying to get him out of his house while the roads were closed. By the time we got him to a safe place, he had early signs of hypothermia and cell phone had stopped working from the cold.
“[That] night we lost power and did not have power most of the week. Then we were told our water was unsafe and must be boiled. Phone and internet service were also out. This was a very difficult situation to be in during freezing cold and stuck inside with children and pets. Of course we started running out of supplies. Since then, finding basic supplies has been hard, going to multiple stores every day to find basic supplies. And I have a chronic illness for which I was unable to get treatment, causing my health to get worse.
“The whole experience has taken up my time and my family’s for more than a week now in some form or another. I cannot explain how stressful, even traumatic, this has been. By the time we got utilities back, I [was] so far behind in my coursework. Catching up takes time and I still have so many other responsibilities. I’m wishing that my professors would extend due dates further or reduce one of the assignments.”
“The winter storm left my residence without power for six days, without any water for five, with a total of eight days for a lack of clean and treated water when including return of water pressure with a boil notice. I also lost all internet and mobile phone connection even when my mobile had battery power remaining…I am somewhat disappointed in the lack of understanding and support shown by UHCL toward students during these times of crises.”
-Hannah Hunter, psychology major
Stephanie Holleran, senior international student adviser, described how she got through the storm with her fellow Hawks.
“I was able to stay at my colleague/friend’s house, so it was a perfect example of Hawks helping Hawks,” Holleran said. “I played with her young daughter and we had delicious family-style meals since she had power. Everything was great when I slept at home on Thursday but woke up on Friday to water gushing out of my washer/dryer closet, which is on my patio. Luckily, no water came into my apartment or my neighbor below me and it was just a cracked hose connected to my unit. It’s all fixed now.
“Being from New York, it was a little crazy to me that a little bit of snow and cold weather caused such hardship for so many people. Overall, my experience was not bad, just a little inconvenient.”
Monica Mata Torres, psychology and anthropology major, described how the event has put her in a survival mode and affecting her school life and personal life.
“Our experience was like many others; as the unexpected temperatures turned bitterly cold our power went out and we had to adapt quickly to our current situation,” Torres said. “Hurricane Harvey prepared me for the unpredictability but the cold was unbearable due in part to our home being built in the 60s. The pipes froze, and by Wednesday, Feb. 18 we began to see damage in our kitchen – leaks everywhere. Supplies to cover and repair were difficult to find; the long lines only added to our experience as the exposed walls and ceiling brought the bitter cold even more.
“Then the power grid would play tricks on us like a child playing with the light switch, allowing us just enough power to tease us into making a hot dinner or catch up on some news information only to be taken off the grid once and again over and over for three days. Now it’s the fun game of repair and recovery while we wait for the insurance adjuster and all the hoops to jump through in this unprecedented weather event. Bills that went unpaid due to power outage, no cell or internet service and the list goes on. Life continues on as we try to juggle with family and our school academics.
“I personally feel like I’m in this survival mode with all that we have gone through in 2020, and now this weather event in 2021 I feel like I can’t focus on school like I used to. My mind is dealing with so many things and at times [I] feel like a circus juggling act trying to keep all the plates spinning without one falling and creating more chaos.
“I’m sure others out there are dealing with far worse and feel helpless at times but we are all here for a reason and a purpose. Life is always going to throw us a curveball here or there. It’s those times of adversity that we find out how strong and resilient we truly are.”
“We had no power for several days, no internet when we did have power, and no water of course. We were able to keep somewhat warm by burning grill wood in our fireplace. We also had filled some water bottles for use in the house and were able to purchase some drinking water. It was a difficult week. We spent a lot of money on grill wood to warm the house to ensure our baby didn’t suffer or get too cold. We were more fortunate than others in that regard.”
-Irma Giron, business administration major
Shannon Cusick, computer science major, expressed negative feelings regarding UHCL’s response to the events, saying she does not feel the university takes such issues to heart.
“We lost power for four days,” Cusick said. “It was an excruciating experience because I am not solely a student. I have a family, reptiles who needed emergency attention and a job. I needed time to get my home back in order. Many schools in the area stayed closed until Wednesday to allow staff and students time for this very thing; UHCL didn’t.
“Many students have incomprehensible anxiety, and without learning in a classroom, cannot shake it. So, for UHCL to keep pushing everyone to ‘act natural’ if you will, while it does not make true accommodations to grades, like requiring a curve or requiring instructors to follow certain standards they would normally consider ‘too lenient’, is next to criminal. My instructors pushed a few due dates, while others just recorded sessions and told us to ‘watch them before the next class,’ as if we had time for that. To expect anyone to just pick up where they left off after a natural disaster of this extent is cruel and unwarranted. These are very hard times we are living in and as someone who has lived in ‘the real world’ as an adult for over a decade, I believe UHCL is failing me as an institution.”
Editor’s Note 4/22/21: Updated the post with new captions and minimal edits for clarity.
Editor’s Note 5/3/21: A previous version of this article contained a portion of a quote that has been removed to protect the privacy of the respondent.
Editor’s Note 6/14/21: A previous version of this article contained a portion of a quote that has been removed to protect the privacy of the respondent.
