The University of Mississippi said its Oxford campus will remain closed through Sunday, Feb. 1, because of continued extreme winter weather and ongoing recovery efforts from an ice storm. The university canceled events and activities through Sunday and said it will evaluate conditions and notify the campus community of any further operational changes.
The campus, city and county are reporting downed trees and power lines, power outages, falling ice and hazardous road conditions. The university strongly discouraged students who are not on campus or not in the local area from returning so first responders and university teams can safely carry out recovery work. Students in the area were urged to check weather and road conditions before traveling.
The university said power has been restored to many residence halls and that crews are working with local utility providers to restore power elsewhere as conditions allow. For the status of specific buildings, officials directed callers to the university Call Center at 662-915-7211 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
University officials said life-safety support for students remains the top priority. The GFC Student Union is open as a warming shelter with overnight access; students were asked to bring essentials and snacks, and were warned food cannot be provided there though water dispensers are available. The Rebel Market is open and serving food regardless of meal plan. The Call Center is available for nonemergency updates.
The university thanked statewide and local first responders and campus teams for their work and urged the community to follow @OleMiss for updates. We will provide more information as it becomes available.
