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Stetson

'What's Your Plan?': Stetson's Hurricane Milton Evacuation Required Every Student to File a Housing-Central Form Before Departing

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Confirmed Threat

On October 8, 2024, Stetson University extended the closure of its DeLand campus beginning at 1 p.m. through Friday October 11 ahead of Hurricane Milton. Residential students were required to evacuate and complete a 'What's Your Plan – Hurricane Milton Form' through Housing Central, with those needing shelter routed to Volusia County emergency shelters via Residential Living & Learning. The campus reopened October 14.

Alerts
2
Response
Killed
Injured
Institution
Stetson University
Private Masters · FL
~3,500 studentsStetson Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Stetson is extending the closure of the DeLand campus beginning Tuesday, Oct. 8, at 1 p.m. through Friday, Oct. 11, given the storm's intensity and the need for some employees to evacuate. Based on the current forecast of Hurricane Milton, all in-person classes & events are canceled Oct. 7-11, and residential students must evacuate campus and follow their Hurricane/Emergency Evacuation plan. All students need to fill out the "What's Your Plan – Hurricane Milton Form," available through Housing Central on MyStetson, to indicate whether they have a place to go (home/family/friends) or need a place to stay.
The two-tier deadline (closure begins at 1 p.m. Oct. 8, campus closes at 5 p.m.) gives a four-hour transition window for students to finish packing and depart
Mandatory completion of a 'What's Your Plan' form is unusual — converts the evacuation alert into a tracking instrument that lets Stetson account for every student's destination
By offering Volusia County emergency shelter as a backup option for students without alternatives, Stetson addresses the equity gap that often goes unmentioned in 'evacuate' instructions
The closure window of October 8-11 represents three full instructional days, plus weekend recovery — a four-day operational disruption
ALL CLEAREmail
Approximate reconstruction246 chars
Stetson University will resume normal campus operations on Monday, October 14. Classes resume on Tuesday, October 15. Power has been fully restored to the DeLand campus and all residential facilities have reopened. Internet and Wi-Fi are working.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Distinguishes operational resumption (Monday Oct. 14) from class resumption (Tuesday Oct. 15) — gives students an extra day to return without missing instruction
Lists three specific service-restoration confirmations (power, residential facilities, internet/Wi-Fi) — practical detail that matters more to returning students than generic 'campus is safe' language
Implicit but important: Stetson lost power across the DeLand campus during Milton, a fact only revealed by the 'has been fully restored' framing in the all-clear
Context

Background

Stetson University is a private master's-granting institution of about 3,500 students with its main campus in DeLand, Florida — about 35 miles west of Daytona Beach in Volusia County. Although DeLand is inland, Volusia County issued evacuation orders ahead of Hurricane Milton on October 7, 2024, and Stetson made the decision to evacuate residential students rather than rely on campus shelter-in-place. The university closed its DeLand campus beginning at 1 p.m. on October 8, requiring all residential students to depart and complete a 'What's Your Plan – Hurricane Milton Form' through Housing Central on MyStetson — a tracking system that lets the university account for every student's destination. Students who lacked travel options were routed to Volusia County emergency shelters by Residential Living & Learning. After Milton's passage knocked out power across the DeLand campus, Stetson announced normal operations would resume Monday October 14 and classes Tuesday October 15. The 'What's Your Plan' tracking form is an underdocumented but important innovation: at most universities, evacuation orders are pushed to inboxes and students disperse without further institutional knowledge of where they went.
Analysis

Key Findings

Stetson required every residential student to file a 'What's Your Plan' form through Housing Central — converting the evacuation alert into an accountability instrument
The two-tier deadline (closure at 1 p.m., campus closed at 5 p.m. on Oct. 8) gave a controlled four-hour transition window
Volusia County emergency shelter referrals via Residential Living & Learning addressed the equity gap that hurts students without travel options
Power loss across the DeLand campus was acknowledged only via the 'has been fully restored' framing in the all-clear — a notable absence from the evacuation alert itself
Outcome
Campus closed October 8 at 1 p.m. through October 11. Power was lost across the DeLand campus during the storm but later fully restored. All residential facilities reopened. Classes resumed Tuesday, October 15. No student injuries reported.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
  2. News
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Tags
hurricanemiltonweatherevacuationfloridastetsondelandvolusia-countyprivate-universitywhats-your-plan-formhousing-tracking
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion