On Monday night at approximately midnight, the power went out unexpectedly on campus and in parts of the city of Hillsdale.
“The first thing I thought was ‘no classes the next day,’” sophomore Abe Dane said.
Before students could be excited about cancelled classes, however, the power turned back on a few hours later. Not before, however, numerous students participated in various strange activities, including streaking, and impromptu gatherings and games.
Curious as to the source of the power outage, many students, including ones from Whitley Residence, Kappa Kappa Gamma and Koon, wandered into the darkness to investigate.
“It’s not that I wanted to cause trouble,” Dane said. “I wanted to see what other people were doing.”
Dane brought his car to Koon, picked up sophomore Evan Moran and senior Charles New, and went to determine the blackout’s extent. Dane said the campus and immediate area was dark, although some street and emergency lights remained lit.
Red flares dotted intersections in downtown Hillsdale, the city of Hillsdale having quickly responded.
Security officer Chad Spahr cleared most streets and walkways within 30 minutes.
Not wanting to let the night’s novelty pass, senior Dan Silliman invited a group of wanderers to his home for a candle-lit Scrabble match, which disbanded shortly after lights turned on at 3:04 a.m.
“I wouldn’t want it to happen all the time, but it’s always enjoyable,” Silliman said. “It was a monkey wrench in your usual Monday evening.”
The official cause of the power outage has not been confirmed.