MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
College football is a way of life in the South, and football is often played in adverse conditions. So after the remnants of Hurricane Helene ripped through Southern Appalachia, Clemson University in South Carolina went ahead with its homecoming game this past weekend, this after the storm had killed at least 30 people in South Carolina alone, this after many residents of the town of Clemson were without power and had waited long hours and long lines for water and gas. Well, some of those residents are furious that the university still welcomed 80,000 people to town to use up what few resources remained.
I want to bring in Caitlin Herrington. She's a reporter for the Post and Courier and covers Clemson for the paper. She joins us from nearby Greenville, S.C. Caitlin Herrington, welcome. And just give me a quick lay of the land. What is the state of damage where you are?
CAITLIN HERRINGTON: Where I am in Greenville, there are a lot of down trees on power lines. There are hundreds of thousands of people, I believe, at this point, still without power, and the soonest estimate we have at this point is maybe by Friday, if we're lucky.
KELLY: OK. So it sounds like things are still rough. How then did the university manage to pull this off and host a football game? Where did they get power?
HERRINGTON: When I asked the spokesman at the university how they came back online so quickly, I was told that their main distribution lines are underground, which reduces a lot of issues for them as long as power is being received at its substations. And apparently, it was a matter of two breakers that had flipped, and they just had to call Duke Energy, ask for those breakers to be reset, and the main part of campus was back online within a couple of hours on Friday.
KELLY: Tell me more about what residents are saying, what the reaction is here.
HERRINGTON: I've seen all across the spectrum on social media, which is the main way I'm able to communicate with people at this point. A lot of people are very upset. They think this was an egregious act of the university to invite these people in to use resources they themselves desperately need and sometimes can't even access. I've also heard from people who think it was just fine that the university offered a little bit of respite and something to look forward to and the ability to have a good time and a hot meal with 80,000 of their closest friends. So it's been all over the spectrum. But I think the voices I've heard the most from are very upset at the disrespect the university showed to their alumni and surrounding community.
KELLY: How is the university defending its decision to go ahead with the game?
HERRINGTON: That is the question of the weekend. I could repeat the statement back to you that I believe is in the article. The university said, oh, well, we assessed our resources. Our campus is in good shape. We're able to host this game. They did make the move shortly before kickoff on Saturday and announced that they would open some facilities to the public on Sunday so that they could charge their devices, grab a quick shower, access the WiFi and use some of the resources that were dedicated on campus. They did decide to open that up to the community.
KELLY: I'll ask the question that must be on the minds of football fans. Did Clemson win?
HERRINGTON: I believe they did. I, myself, did not watch the game, but I have heard from our sports reporter that they did beat them 40-14 I believe the score was. You should fact-check me because all the things I am at Clemson, I am not the sports reporter.
KELLY: This was against Stanford, is that right? That was the opponent in the game?
HERRINGTON: Yes, which was a conference game.
KELLY: That is Caitlin Herrington. And, Caitlin, I did just manage to fact-check the score. It was indeed the Clemson Tigers that won 42-14 in that homecoming game over the weekend. Caitlin Herrington, reporter for the Post and Courier, thank you very much.
HERRINGTON: Thank you for having me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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