Monday is a Once in A Lifetime Experience!
Join students, alumni, faculty, staff, friends and family members on the Student Center Lawn and Celebrate! Telescopes, music, club booths, games, food & fun. As of Saturday morning, Monday’s forecast has sun and high 50s/low 60s*!!!!!
In this communication:
- County Leaders Predicting Record VIsitors – What to Anticipate
- Entrances to Campus Will be Limited for Part of the Day
- Clarkson’s Lawn Celebration
- Safety Glasses
- Games, Food, Music & More
- Other good to know things
Record Visitors: On the day of and hours leading up to/from the eclipse on April 8, the population of St. Lawrence County is anticipated to be more than double its normal levels with upwards of more than 160,000 visitors. Stay local and safe on campus and avoid the congested regional roadways, gas and ATM cash shortages, and potential cell access challenges. Our Clarkson Celebration will be for students, alumni, faculty, staff, friends of the University and their families.
Campus Entrances: With county emergency management reps, we will be monitoring the influx of visitors to the region and limiting RVs/ visitors to campus who do not have a connection to our University community. We anticipate we may need to limit access to campus starting on Monday morning and may close down our Route 11 entrances. Please plan to enter campus at the Hamlin-Powers entrance on Clarkson Avenue across from Walker Arena. Campus parking lot assignments for residents, employees and visitors remain the same.
- Do you have your Clarkson parking sticker on your vehicle? Clarkson ID? (Get these from Campus Safety in Schuler ERC Suite 1200.) These will make getting through these checkpoints faster. Do you have family joining you and no sticker? We can send you a campus parking pass that can simply be shown to Campus Safety via phone or a paper copy at the entrance for easy access to get on campus and be a part of the Clarkson Eclipse Celebration — email community@clarkson.edu to get the pass.
Eclipse Glasses. Based on early survey results, we expanded our inventory. Let us know if you need them to ensure we hold them for you: https://forms.gle/piAFfWJkWXTrNKKA6 and we will also be passing the extra inventory out at an information table in the Student Center while supplies last. Students supporting sustainability initiatives will also be collecting solar glasses after the eclipse to donate them to Astronomers Without Borders, which is an organization that redistributes them worldwide for future eclipses and saves on items going into the landfill that could be repurposed.
Games, Food, Music & More: With Clarkson Union Board streaming music and sharing countdown announcements, our Physics department will be video broadcasting live from their telescopes to clarkson.edu/live; many student clubs and organizations will have educational booths and games /activities to do for all ages of eclipse watchers; and we will have bouncy houses, corn hole, ax throwing (inflatable!) and more. Attendees will have access to grilled meal and dessert buffets, plus the Servery will remain open..
Other Good Things to Know:
- Clarkson EMS will be in the Student Center fIrst floor at our information command post to cover emergency first aid. Representatives from the University Emergency Response Team will also be based at this Information Table to respond to questions.
- Wear your Clarkson Green? Yes, according to this article on optimal eclipse viewing!
- We suggest bringing lawn chairs and/or blankets for the lawn to relax and watch the eclipse.
- We will close the food lines for the 20 minutes surrounding totality so that all staff supporting the event can enjoy the eclipse.
Our goals are an educational, fun and safe event for all. Thank you everyone for your support and camaraderie in working together.