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Did you feel Safe on Campus during the Hurricane?

Cristina Foglietta
Staff Writer

Many students had to stay on campus during Hurricane Sandy. There was no power at LIU Post from Sunday, October 28 to Saturday, November 3. There were also no school shuttles or N20 buses on campus from October 28 to November 1. The campus regained power on Saturday, November 3 at around 1 p.m. Obviously, not everyone can leave campus to go home, especially not out of state and international students. So did students feel safe on a closed campus with no power?

Many students said they felt safe. “Resident Hall Directors and Resident Assistants were always on duty; they checked up on us and gave us candy on Halloween,” said Liang Long, a graduate Master of Business Administration student. Others did not feel safe. “I need power and heat. It’s terrible; I want to go back to Korea,” said Celina Dalae Min, a senior Broadcasting major.

Some students feel that LIU Post staff did everything they could. “Winnick was open every day. I saw workers cooking food outside with wood and fire when there was no power,” said Long. There was heat and hot water every day during the hurricane, he added. “One of my classmates who lives in Hicksville stayed in my room because our dorm is safer than his house,” said Long. The dorm buildings are good because they are made from stone. There was light in the lobby; people played cards and board games every night, Long said. “My dorm, Suffolk Hall, had the most international students staying during the hurricane, more than thirty,” said Long. One thing that they should have done was to make a place to study, either a building or room in the residence halls, he said. “During the hurricane, one door was open in Life Science; my classmate and I went into room 273, which had light and heat. We studied in there for several hours and then a security guard made us leave because the building was closed and then locked the door,” said Long.

Others felt that that LIU Post could have done more to make students feel safe and comfortable during the hurricane. “They should have provided us with candles and shuttle buses,” said Mikhail Gryaznov, a sophomore International Business major. The school didn’t really do anything bad or anything good during the hurricane, he said. “The main problem was I couldn’t get cash; the university should provide us with ATM machines. Winnick closes early. We need to eat and to order food, you need cash,” said Gryaznov. Winnick was open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on October 29-30 and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. starting on October 31. “The school asked us to save electricity, but they didn’t shut off the lights in the other buildings which were closed like Life Science and the library,” said Gryaznov. The school taped the outlets with band-aids and did not allow us the charge our laptops, he said. “My friend’s room helped me a lot. Their dorm room was the only room with power in the entire building of Nassau Hall,” said Gryaznov. Several students went to their room to charge their cell phones and laptops, he said.

Many students did not only lose power on campus but in their homes as well. “I had no power for ten days at my house and then I came back to campus and there was no power,” said Emika Wada, a senior Music Education major. LIU Post lost power again on Wednesday, November 7 at around 5 p.m. This was the same day classes resumed. The power came back six hours later on November 7. The power went out again on November 8 at around 12 p.m. This power outage lasted about three hours.

I evacuated the campus on Sunday, October 28, to go home where the power remained on. I felt the safest at home. I returned to campus on Tuesday, November 6. At this time, everything was working in the dorm buildings. However, the next day it was very unsettling when the power went out at 5 p.m. It was extremely dark and I was unprepared to be living with no power. The residence halls did nothing to make me feel more comfortable or safe at this time. The Residence Hall Director and Resident Assistants just stayed in the lobby of the dorm building. They did not know if class would be canceled and when we would regain power. I did not see anyone check on the residents at this time. I think they should provide students with flash lights or candles to make them feel more comfortable. It was a little scary walking to Winnick in darkness during heavy snow. At this time, there were no drinks available and there was a limited selection of food. I did not feel safe on campus with no power at all. I was very pleased when the power went back on at 11 p.m. However, the next day, October 8, the power went off again at around 12 p.m. I was in class and was dismissed due to the power outage. I went to Hillwood and everything was closing around me. I quickly got food but I witnessed that many students did not. There was no food being served in Hillwood less than an hour later and Winnick was closed at this time. I don’t understand how you can close all food places when you have a campus full of students.

November 7 and 8 were days of confusion on campus. Many students did not attend classes and teachers did not know how we would make up the time lost during the hurricane. No one knew if classes would be canceled, when the power would be back on and what was open on campus. I felt uncomfortable, anxious and did not feel safe the entire time. After the power went off on November 8 and afternoon classes were canceled, I went home.

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