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On April 9, 2024, a large part of North America, including Russellville, will be cloaked in darkness during the middle of the day for 4 minutes and 11 seconds. The big event our campus has been preparing for over 2 years will be here: a total solar eclipse.
A total solar eclipse is when the moon passes between the sun and earth. This is an incredibly rare experience, as the next total solar eclipse here will not occur for another 20 years.
“I think it’s very exciting,” said Dr. Amber Harrington, an associate professor of physics. “We are very close to that center line- the darkest part of the shadow. So for over 4 minutes, we will have a complete total solar eclipse.”
The campus will be pivoting to virtual operations at noon on Friday, April 6, and continue virtually on Monday, April 9 and Tuesday, April 10. But there will not be a shortage of activities for students.
On campus, the science department has several eclipse related activities and experiments planned to do during the eclipse. Representatives from NASA will be housed on campus the week before and during the eclipse. They aim to connect with students during their time. Many RSO’s have events planned as well. Off campus, “Moon over Main” will be on Main Street about a mile away. There will be food trucks, concerts, and more activities.
But some students have decided to spend the weekend elsewhere.
“I think the traffic will be insane and I’ll be trapped here,” said Laney Sample, a nursing major from Benton, Arkansas. Although all 5 entry points for ATU will be locked down and monitored, all students, staff and faculty will be able to get on and off campus. But there is expected to be hours of traffic on the highway.
“We are an academic institution that puts our students first. And our students are our first priority. Their safety, their security, their food, their parking, their dorms. That’s why we’re doing everything to ensure that when it rolls into Wednesday we don’t have some kind of huge thing to contend with.” said Susan West, associate professor of parks, recreation, hospitality and administration and eclipse committee chair.
According to West, no students will be forced out of their dorms or their parking spots. “We are begging to please not sublet your dorms,” said West. This is for students’ safety and security, as well as the fact that it is a violation of the contract students sign with ATU for their dorms.
“Other than probably making work for classes, I don’t see this as much of a big deal,” said Connar Stroud, a history and anthropology and geography major from Poyan, Arkansas. “But it is pretty cool that we’ll see a total eclipse.”
ATU is charging for parking spots, camping spots, and RV spots, but the money will be going back to RSOs that are working with the committee. Students will not be charged any more money than they are already paying for parking, dorms, and food.
“Honestly I think it’s pretty cool, since it’s like a once in a lifetime type of thing for a lot of us,” said Carrington Sosebee, a criminal justice major from Van Buren, Arkansas. “But honestly, at this other point I don’t really know how to feel because they’re inviting so many people from off campus coming on.”
“We’re going to do anything in our power to protect the campus. That’s why we have a plan in place for what can happen: porta-potties, the dumpsters, and we’re gonna set up stations for emergencies,” said West. There will be emergency management, campus security, and a registered nurse on campus. All academic buildings will be locked down so visitors will not be in them. West says there will be plenty of food on campus, but students need to stock up beforehand on things like snacks and toilet paper.
People from other colleges and states are planning to be on the ATU campus for the eclipse. “Let’s just show them the best of us. I think any opportunity that we have to do that is just awesome. You can’t pay for that kind of PR,” said West.
“Even sunglasses don’t filter enough,” said Dr. Harrington. “Make sure that they are official solar eclipse glasses. They don’t have to be expensive, but they need to make sure that it’s not just someone pretending to sell official glasses.”
“I believe in our committee and every decision this committee has made and worked on. We have done so together and we have done so with students at the forefront, because that’s why we’re here. So we don’t ever want to do anything that is going to cause problems for our students,” said West.
