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At UC Berkeley all classes were cancelled today (Wednesday) because PG&E said campus would lose power. Buildings, libraries, computing services all shut down...

At UC Berkeley all classes were cancelled today (Wednesday) because PG&E said campus would lose power. Buildings, libraries, computing services all shut down... but power stayed on all day. I'm sure the administration is very upset that all this happened for no reason.

cameldrv 7y ago
Not very long ago, people would have just improvised solutions to not having power. For classrooms with windows, do a lecture without PowerPoint. For those without, maybe set up some battery powered lighting, open the doors, or just hold the lecture on the lawn. I am very dismayed with the recent tendency in America for administrators of institutions to just give up when the slightest obstacle is put in their path.
- yborg 7y ago
  It's driven by liability concerns. Somebody falls down the stairs because the lights were off and sues the University.
- zenexer 7y ago
  I wouldn't be surprised if there are disability concerns. Elevators that don't work, no electricity for medical devices, etc.
- PureParadigm 7y ago
  Yes, there's definitely some truth in what you're saying -- UC Berkeley managed back in 1868 presumably without power, but it's also much bigger and has different facilities now. It's not as simple as just telling 40,000+ students to improvise. Many buildings, especially those with deep basements (like Soda Hall) may have ventilation problems without power. With the number of students here, holding lecture on the lawn or even rearranging to rooms with windows would be complete chaos, assuming that's even possible. To top it all off, elevators might also not function and cause issues for people in wheelchairs, etc. The current news now is classes will be held unless the power actually does go out.
  - cameldrv 7y ago
    It's exactly this attitude that I hate. Guy in a wheelchair can't get to class because the elevator is out? Swap rooms with another class on the ground floor or get a few strong guys together and carry 'em up the stairs or have someone hold a phone and livestream the lecture or have someone take notes and give them to him after class. Cancelling every single class without even trying just says that what the university is doing isn't important. It begins to look like the only thing that matters is providing the appearance of an education. If things get a little difficult, as long as someone else can be blamed, no harm done by skipping some material, you weren't going to use it in real life anyhow.
    - Fnoord 7y ago
      > It's exactly this attitude that I hate. Guy in a wheelchair can't get to class because the elevator is out? Swap rooms with another class on the ground floor or get a few strong guys together and carry 'em up the stairs or have someone hold a phone and livestream the lecture or have someone take notes and give them to him after class. My father (RIP) has been in Venice twice. Once, he was healthy, and he even shot a picture (before my time, back in early 70s) which won a price (he had his own dark room where he produced the picture as well). The second time he was in Venice, he was with his family (I was ~10). He was sitting in a wheelchair, was legally blind, physically weak, had MS, ... I have no idea how Venice is these days but back than (90s) it was not wheelchair-friendly as there where bridges with stairs everywhere. I will never forget how two man carried him, in his wheelchair, over every bridge. And there was a lot of them! Because of that we were able to do some sight-seeing as a family, and were able to see Basilica Cattedrale Patriarcale di San Marco. We also managed to get him (on our own risk) into a gondola, reliving his first experience in Venice (the picture he won a price with was of a gondolier). As for your post, I'd like to agree (dislike defeatist approach), but we depend more and more on the Internet these days. Without power, no Internet. I don't know exactly how UC depends on it. What I'd prefer, though, is trying to work around it, but apparently for one reason or another UC did not want to, and I am curious why not. It turns out their defeatist approach was wrong anyway. A few years ago the power was out here for multiple hours, and I was happy to have my e-reader charged. I also sometimes have something similar with battery devices plus thunderstorm (I tend to disconnect my laptops and smartphones during thunderstorm).

cameldrv 7y ago

Not very long ago, people would have just improvised solutions to not having power. For classrooms with windows, do a lecture without PowerPoint. For those without, maybe set up some battery powered lighting, open the doors, or just hold the lecture on the lawn. I am very dismayed with the recent tendency in America for administrators of institutions to just give up when the slightest obstacle is put in their path.

yborg 7y ago
It's driven by liability concerns. Somebody falls down the stairs because the lights were off and sues the University.
zenexer 7y ago
I wouldn't be surprised if there are disability concerns. Elevators that don't work, no electricity for medical devices, etc.
PureParadigm 7y ago
Yes, there's definitely some truth in what you're saying -- UC Berkeley managed back in 1868 presumably without power, but it's also much bigger and has different facilities now. It's not as simple as just telling 40,000+ students to improvise. Many buildings, especially those with deep basements (like Soda Hall) may have ventilation problems without power. With the number of students here, holding lecture on the lawn or even rearranging to rooms with windows would be complete chaos, assuming that's even possible. To top it all off, elevators might also not function and cause issues for people in wheelchairs, etc. The current news now is classes will be held unless the power actually does go out.
- cameldrv 7y ago
  It's exactly this attitude that I hate. Guy in a wheelchair can't get to class because the elevator is out? Swap rooms with another class on the ground floor or get a few strong guys together and carry 'em up the stairs or have someone hold a phone and livestream the lecture or have someone take notes and give them to him after class. Cancelling every single class without even trying just says that what the university is doing isn't important. It begins to look like the only thing that matters is providing the appearance of an education. If things get a little difficult, as long as someone else can be blamed, no harm done by skipping some material, you weren't going to use it in real life anyhow.
  - Fnoord 7y ago
    > It's exactly this attitude that I hate. Guy in a wheelchair can't get to class because the elevator is out? Swap rooms with another class on the ground floor or get a few strong guys together and carry 'em up the stairs or have someone hold a phone and livestream the lecture or have someone take notes and give them to him after class. My father (RIP) has been in Venice twice. Once, he was healthy, and he even shot a picture (before my time, back in early 70s) which won a price (he had his own dark room where he produced the picture as well). The second time he was in Venice, he was with his family (I was ~10). He was sitting in a wheelchair, was legally blind, physically weak, had MS, ... I have no idea how Venice is these days but back than (90s) it was not wheelchair-friendly as there where bridges with stairs everywhere. I will never forget how two man carried him, in his wheelchair, over every bridge. And there was a lot of them! Because of that we were able to do some sight-seeing as a family, and were able to see Basilica Cattedrale Patriarcale di San Marco. We also managed to get him (on our own risk) into a gondola, reliving his first experience in Venice (the picture he won a price with was of a gondolier). As for your post, I'd like to agree (dislike defeatist approach), but we depend more and more on the Internet these days. Without power, no Internet. I don't know exactly how UC depends on it. What I'd prefer, though, is trying to work around it, but apparently for one reason or another UC did not want to, and I am curious why not. It turns out their defeatist approach was wrong anyway. A few years ago the power was out here for multiple hours, and I was happy to have my e-reader charged. I also sometimes have something similar with battery devices plus thunderstorm (I tend to disconnect my laptops and smartphones during thunderstorm).