@drf said:
And so I profoundly disagree with the OP that the actions of the (presumably) midwest researchers constituted a "WTF," and the several posters who derided their their conduct as being somehow ostentatious, or "dum" as whoisfred so eloquently insinuated. Indeed, it is a veritable tragedy, and my condolences go out to them.
I realize that I didn't make clear in the post the reason people were asked to go home. It isn't an issue of access to the buildings, but consumption of resources ( electricity, hot water, and chilled water for AC) that caused the university to shut down research. Education must be the primary concern for a public university and for the university to reinstate summer classes quickly and even to be prepared for classes in the fall, certain facilities and services must take precedence. There was a huge effort to save the main university library and the main IT building (which houses the computer systems that are necessary for a modern university to function) and I believe that both were successful. The university administration, maintenance, and IT departements NEEDED to be able to operate in order to coordinate the efforts necessary to accomplish these things.
Most of the researchers gladly dropped their petri dishes and microscopes and shut down long running computer simulations to pick up a shovel to help. I am sure that the only researchers complaining are the same one that whine about needing to teach in order to have a FACULTY research position at a public LEARNING institution. In light of the 25,000 people who were displaced from their homes in a city just north of here (36,000 statewide) who may not have their homes restored for weeks or even months, all those poor researchers can take their 'veritable tragedy' and shove it. Most of the researchers I work with would agree.