USC, Clemson open doors to students fleeing Florence

More than 100 hundred college students from the Lowcountry will be calling Columbia or Clemson home, at least for now.

The University of South Carolina expects to have 77 students from the College of Charleston by Wednesday afternoon, spokesman Jeff Stensland said in a text message. The university has a total capacity of 270 extra beds for students from other colleges. These beds are not open to the public, Stensland said.

Tuesday, Clemson University bussed in 53 students and 20 staff members from Coastal Carolina University, spokesman John Gouch said in an email. Clemson prepared 150 beds earlier this week after Coastal Carolina asked Clemson about housing students, Couch said.

Coastal Carolina, located 20 minutes northwest of Myrtle Beach, is expected to receive a hit from Florence.

The number of students seeking shelter from the storm is relatively small compared to the size of the schools. College of Charleston has 10,863 total students and Coastal Carolina has 10,633, according to their websites. Gouch said that’s not surprising. Students typically evacuate with their families when faced with a major hurricane. The ones taking shelter at USC and Clemson are usually students with nowhere else to go.

“It’s not as many students as you would think,” Gouch said.