Brinley Jordan said she wasn’t expecting to spend a week at her friend’s home in Georgia when she evacuated Juniper-Poplar Hall (JPH) for Hurricane Milton.

 “I came back on Sunday thinking the dorms would already be open,” said the junior mechanical engineering major. 

Jordan had to stay at her parents’ home in Beverly Hills, Florida, for a night because JPH was the only Tampa residence hall that didn’t open Sunday.

Around 4:30 p.m. Monday, a group of five residents struggling to carry their luggage asked Andy Johnson, director of operations and outreach at USF Housing, if they could enter the building. 

“Welcome back,” Johnson replied. “The doors are wide open for you.”

The building’s chillers, which supply cool air to the halls, were damaged during Hurricane Milton, causing the delayed JPH reopening. 

Related: USF to reopen Tampa dorms, except Juniper-Poplar Hall, Sunday

Jordan said USF just “kept pushing” decisions back, which she deemed inconvenient. 

After all the stress, Jordan said she is glad residents are returning and things are “hopefully” settling down.

The university thanked student residents for their patience as USF worked to “safely” reopen JPH. 

Only one of the three chillers is operational and providing air conditioning to JPH. Still, USF Housing is working to get the remaining chillers back “as quickly as possible.”

In the meantime, residents may experience temperatures of around 75 degrees in their space. Residents were encouraged to bring a fan or open their dorm windows to help manage the temperature overnight.

USF Housing provided residents with check-out carts to help unload the many incoming cars.

The university said the storm did not cause any structural damage to JPH. Life safety systems, power and internet are operational throughout the residence hall.

JP Bayne, a freshman finance major, said he was excited when he found out he could go back to JPH. Bayne wanted to make sure his dorm was okay after the storm.

He rushed into his room to find it just how he left it — plus some flickering lights.

Residents who encounter major “facility issues” within their space, such as water intrusions and electrical problems, can notify the service desk during business hours or their RA on duty.

Students were advised to check their fridges and freezers for perishable items and throw spoiled food into dumpsters. 

“Due to possible power outages during the storm, please assume that any perishable food items are spoiled and unsafe to eat,” the university said.

Thi Phan, a freshman chemistry major, said she returned from Fort Myers to Tampa on Sunday. She spent the night at her friend’s off-campus apartment before she could go back to her dorm in JPH.

The same friend bought her Chick-fil-A on Monday so she would have something to eat for dinner since Juniper Dining is still closed.

Juniper Dining will reopen at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Faculty were urged Sunday to be flexible and understanding with students this week, including JPH residents navigating their way back to campus.     

Phan said she “freaked out” when she heard classes would resume this week.

“How could I go to class if I didn’t have a place to live?” she said. “But now that JPH opened, I feel better.” 

 Bayne said it is unfortunate that classes are resuming this week because he was expecting students to have a few days off due to the campus damage.

“I think there are going to be a lot of no-shows for in-person classes because people have relocated and can’t just get a flight back in one day,” he said.

Jordan said knowing some students will not have power back until Thursday is troubling.

“With road closures and even the gas situation around here, I wouldn’t say it’s optimal for everyone to come back right now,” she said.

The estimated power restoration date for Hillsborough County is by 11:59 p.m. Thursday, according to TECO. Flooding of electrical infrastructure and debris on transmission lines contributed to the damage in the county, TECO said.

The university said students trying to travel back to USF or still experiencing a power outage or other storm-related issues should notify their instructors as soon as possible.

Doing so will help instructors know that students’ personal circumstances prevent their class participation this week.  

USF will continue to monitor the storm impacts and will provide additional updates via USF’s official social media channels, MyUSF and email.