Hurricane Sandy was the spotlight of the past weekend on the East Coast stretching from the Caribbean to Canada. Though Sandy took an unexpected turn to the West, most of the campuses across the East Coast felt its effects from high winds to light rain. At Mount Holyoke, students prepared for the storm by making trips to Big Y for snacks and water and making bagged dinners at the dining halls. Students also enjoyed a day off from school, now commonly known as Hurricane Day, and returned to a normal class schedule on Tuesday.
“I took some extra food from brunch and a little more fruit than usual,” sophomore Merita Saliho said. Other students however, took as much as they can, especially after experiencing the October snowstorm last year. However, many students were cooperative and considerate of others in times of chaos. “I figured if it lasts more than a day the college would take care of us so there was no need to go over the top,” Saliho added. Like many other students, especially those who live in older dorms, Saliho was worried that the heating would stop functioning. However, the electricity did not go out and lighting and heat was not a problem. And in addition, students also got Monday off from classes. “I caught up on TV series, talked to my friends and in the evening, I was working on school stuff,” Saliho explained of her Hurricane Day.
However, schools in the south lucked out on Hurricane Day, but faced minimum effects on their campuses. Kevin Davis, sophomore at University of South Carolina at Columbia and Evan Raskin, junior at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill did not prepare for Sandy, but did feel strong winds and some light rain over the Carolinas this past weekend. “I didn’t prepare – we didn’t need to since we were south of its path,” Davis said. Neither had anything particular to worry about but they did express concern for those who were affected by the storm. “I didn’t prepare, but things that worried me were my family back home – in Maryland, and my grandmother who lives alone in the Bronx,” Raskin said. Davis also worried about his home in Maryland. Like many schools in the Carolinas, neither UNC Chapel Hill nor USC Columbia canceled classes.
The affected regions, such as Washington D.C. needed more preparations and caution. Miso Juhnn, sophomore at American University was not too worried about the hurricane, but her roommate had a fear of natural disasters. “I wasn’t too worried here on campus because I knew we had a back up generator and the school took a lot of precautions before the storm,” Juhnn said, “My suitemates and I went to our school cafeteria and each got a box of food. We also went out and bought some water and snacks.” American University closed its administrative offices and canceled classes for two days, which gave its students time to recover and relax around midterms. Juhnn added, “We watched TV series, like Lost, until 3 am.”
Further up north in New Haven, Earl Lee, sophomore at Yale University was not worried considering the center of Sandy was further south. “I didn’t prepare and I wasn’t worried, but we got Monday and Tuesday off,” Lee said, “My preparation went as far as me filling up a couple water bottles if that even counts.” However, even with minimum impact, Yale gave students two days off from classes. While many students felt pressured to study, many took the time to relax. As for Lee, he spent his time studying for classes and writing for the Yale Daily News on Monday, but by Tuesday, he added, “I spent time trying to do ‘psets’ but I was feeling largely unproductive.” With the widespread of academic burnout during mid-semester, students were overall happy to gain a few spontaneous days off.
As many already know, New York and New Jersey were the most affected regions on the East Coast. Campuses within those regions experienced the most destructive affects and were the closest to the eye of the storm as it made landfall. Mount Holyoke College has sent hopes and wishes to all alums, friends, and families of the college via Facebook and Twitter earlier this week as the rest of the nation and the world is hoping for a quick recovery of Hurricane Sandy.