Stony Brook Students Move In Early; Many Unworried About Hurricane

Even as Stony Brook University allowed students to move in ahead of schedule on Friday and Saturday, many of them are not worried about Hurricane Irene.

"I think that I feel safer here than I would at home," said Justyne Passarelli, 20, of Glen Head.

Eli Tyler, 20, of Oswego, is also not worried.

"Everyone's freaking out," he said. "I think everyone's blowing it way out of proportion."

Erin Hart, 18, from Brooklyn, said she isn't nervous, either. She plans to just "sit and watch the rain fall."

On Thursday, the university's administration rescheduled move-in day from Sunday to Saturday, and encouraged students to bring a one- or two-day supply of nonperishable food with them. The university continues to monitor the storm and update students and parents via its Emergency Management website. Many move-in day activities have been canceled or postponed.

But the earlier move-in date does not appear to have negatively impacted many students.

"Everyone wanted to move in today anyway," Passarelli said.

That was the case for Katie Harrison, 20, of West Babylon.

"I'm happy that I got to move in a day early," she said. "I'm not nervous about the hurricane."

"If we had to move in Monday, I would have been worried," said Mike Chan, 18, from Brooklyn.

His friend Igor Stefanco, 19, of Brooklyn, agreed.

"I don't really think [the hurricane] is going to affect us, especially since we're already moved in," he said.

Yanique Powell, 19, from Brooklyn, said she has a friend who moved into her dorm room – and then went home to Queens.

"I've seen a hurricane before," she said. "I'm not worried."

Neither was her friend Chaylice McDonald, 19, of Hempstead.

"I just want to see what happens to the pile of sand by the old chemistry building," she said.

Among the worst complaints was last-minute cramming when packing up their belongings, long lines and sold-out stores when shopping, and rushing from the parking lots into the dorm rooms.

"We had to rush a bit because it was raining and we didn't want the electronics to get wet," said Vikalpa Dammavalam, 19, from Queens.

Even the traffic wasn't that bad.

"There's more traffic coming off Long Island than coming in," said Jacqueline Hart after helping daughter Erin move in.

Ron Jacobs, whose son Adam, 19, moved in Saturday, had a four-hour drive ahead of him back to his home in Rexford, N.Y. But he wasn't concerned about the hurricane.

"It doesn't seem like it's going to be too, too bad now," he said. "It will be behind us as we get out of Long Island."

The students may not be worried – but you can bet some of their parents are.

"I'm nervous, as a parent. Are they going to be safe here?" said Sandra Cardillo, who helped her daughter Alyssa, 19, move in Saturday. "The dining halls are going to be closed, so the kids aren't going to have anything to eat. That's another big problem."

Maureen Harrison of West Babylon, who helped her daughter Katie move in, said she hadn't heard any direct communication from the school on Saturday.

"I'm a little nervous," she said. "I just hope that the school is prepared."