WLU cancels classes as region goes dark

Shortly after 2:00 p.m. on the afternoon of Feb. 29 Wilfrid Laurier University’s Waterloo campus lost power. It quickly became apparent that the power outage affected most of Waterloo Region with reports of a blackout as far as Guelph.

Between 3:00 and 3:30 p.m., power began to be restored to areas surrounding WLU, as well as a few buildings on campus. On Wednesday evening power returned to all buildings on campus.

As of approximately 3:28 p.m., the university announced that classes on its Waterloo campus would be cancelled for the remainder of the day. Around the same time it was announced that the WLU Athletic Complex would be closed for the remainder of the day.

According to Laurier Special Constable Services (SCS), the campus will be closed for the night of Feb. 29, to re-open at 8:00 a.m. on March 1.

It is likely that the university will follow protocol for school closures due to snow days and assignments and tests will be pushed back.

According to Dan Dawson, the director of student services at WLU, the Fresh Food Co. is currently selling pre-made items at base prices, accepting cash and first-year students’ OneCards. Dawson added that should the power be restored at a reasonable time, the dining hall will stay open later than its regular hours.

Students’ Union business such as WIlf’s have re-opened and will resume normal operating hours for the rest of Feb. 29. The Terrace food court and International News, however, will re-open the morning of March 1. Foot Patrol will also be open Wednesday night.

The power outage has also reportedly affected Research In Motion (RIM) causing delays on the BlackBerry network.

According to the City of Waterloo, the Waterloo Recreation Complex did not lose power, so game one of the Ontario University Athletics women’s hockey final between Laurier and Western will go ahead as scheduled at 7:30 p.m.

This story is developing. Stay tuned to thecord.ca and follow @cordnews for updates.