Ruthie Chinery celebrated her engagement during the blackout. Courtesy | Ruthie Chinery

When the power went out on campus after a tornado warning the evening of March 30, many juniors and seniors were reminded of the ice storms and power outages of 2023.

While many hoped the outage would last until the morning and force the cancellation of classes, as it did in 2023, the city restored power just before 7 a.m. Monday morning. But in the 12 hours without power, students still found many ways to have fun on a dark campus.

Sophomore Stephanie Surmacz, who lives in Koon Residence, said she was in her room when the power went out.

“I was studying for the exam the next day on my computer so I could still see really easily,” Surmacz said. “There were some girls in the hallway just laughing and joking.”

According to Surmacz, one emergency light remained on in the hallway with the first power outage, but it eventually went out, too.

“I was just studying in my room with my boyfriend as our devices slowly lost power,” Surmacz said. “We were both trying to do homework, but it started getting darker and harder to see.”

Surmacz said Koon does not have a backup generator, so all the residents were completely dependent on any other places that had power.

“We went for a drive so that we could charge our phones, and we tried to go to Walmart to get a case of water because the water fountains weren’t working,” Surmacz said. “But they didn’t have power. Meijer didn’t have power. So everyone went to the Dairy Queen drive-through line, which was a vibe. There were like 20 people there.”

Surmacz said Koon did not have any lights, Wi-Fi, or drinking water throughout the night, and using the bathroom in the dark was especially scary. She said she was discouraged about having to wait until 7 a.m. for any notice from administration.

“All the streetlights went dark and it looked really cool, but also super sketchy,” Surmacz said. “Some girl was screaming bloody murder.”

Across campus in Kirn Residence, senior Caitlin Filep’s plans for the evening did not include sitting on the floor in a half-lit hallway.

“My friend and I were going to watch ‘Deep Space 9’ together, but then when the power went out, we played board games on the hallway floor by the only light instead,” Filep said. “It was totally an unexpected adventure, and it ended up bringing all the girls in the dorm together. I even got to share SweeTarts ropes with my head RA because these kinds of situations obviously necessitate snacks.”

Just before the storm hit Hillsdale, senior Ruthie Chinery and Charlie Frazee ’24 got engaged. After the proposal, Chinery said the two went to dinner outside of Hillsdale where there was power. Chinery said Frazee, along with several of the couple’s friends, had planned a surprise party at a friend’s apartment, where the two headed after their dinner.

“I had no idea any of this was happening until Charlie told me on the way there,” Chinery said.

But Chinery said while the initial plans for the engagement party were foiled with the loss of power, her friends, including senior Faith Henry and Director of Student Activities Ingrid Dornbirer ’24, improvised.

“They got some battery powered candles from SAB, and Ingrid brought out all the candles she had in her apartment,” Chinery said. “Ingrid also has this cool disco light that made a bunch of colored Northern-Lights-esque patterns on the ceiling. We previously used the same light to have a dance party in Waterman during the infamous ice storm of 2023.”

Chinery said her friends pitched in to create decor for the party, which Chinery said included a life-sized cardboard cutout of the couple, made by senior Maggie Baldwin. 

“This had the potential to be very stressful for my friends, but as Ingrid said in her email to everyone after the power went out ‘Party is still on! We ball,’” Chinery said. “I’m so grateful for how the day went. It couldn’t have been more perfect.”

Chinery said the power outage made for a memorable celebration with friends.

“Someday Charlie and I will be able to tell our kids that we got engaged during a tornado warning and had an engagement party by candlelight,” Chinery said. “How cool is that?”