Melanie Michael was supposed to take her final exams at Kansas University next week, but most of her notes and books were in her Mazda Protege that now has half an apartment building on top of it.

“I don’t know if my teachers will give me any leniency,” the senior from Cheney said.

It was a common concern among residents of Aberdeen South apartments, 4700 W. 27th St., many of whom are KU students. Friday was Stop Day, the day between classes ending and finals beginning.

Todd Cohen, a KU spokesman, said the university had no plans to postpone finals, noting only a small percentage of the overall student body was affected.

Ann Eversole, associate dean of student life, said students with questions about finals should contact their individual instructors. Her office also is available to assist with concerns at 864-4060.

At least one business was coming to the aid of students affected by the storm. Jayhawk Bookstore, 1420 Crescent Road, offered to let students replace books damaged in the storm for free. They would need to place the books on their credit card, but the cost would be reimbursed when the books are returned.

As of midafternoon Friday, no one had taken the bookstore up on the offer.

“Finals are probably next week’s worry,” said Maggie Wilson, a store manager. “It’s definitely unfortunate. They’re students, and they don’t have a lot of extra resources. Hopefully this will help them take a load off.”

Ken Stoner, director of student housing, said KU officials were prepared to assist the Red Cross with emergency housing, though by Friday afternoon that didn’t appear necessary.

“Typically the Red Cross uses high school gymnasiums and other facilities capable of handling crowds to provide shelter,” he said. “If the disaster causes a situation where they need more facilities, they would call the university.”

KU officials also were relieved Friday that the tornado lifted before it reached campus. Bob Newton, spokesman for Douglas County Emergency Management, said the twister was on a crash course with the university.

“If it had stayed on the ground, it would have plowed right through KU,” he said.