Move-in week at Stony Brook University was expected to be a time of excitement and anticipation for both incoming and returning students. However, instead of students being greeted with the buzz of move-in day, muddy waters plagued the campus. With collapsed roads and flooded dorms, Stony Brook was forced to postpone move-in, causing chaos, uncertainty and frustration. What did the flash flood expose about Stony Brook’s ability to handle crises?

The flood cast a frustrating shadow over move-in week, leaving various students with a range of experiences. Many students expressed feelings of disappointment at the efforts made during the flood crisis. Zixi Feng, a freshman majoring in mathematics, is currently residing in the Hilton Garden Inn Stony Brook rather than a dorm room. She was initially told that she would reside in the hotel after being waitlisted for housing. However, further communication regarding certain conditions of her housing were not clarified until after. 

“I wasn’t notified I was going to get a roommate [ in the hotel],” Feng said. “I think it was a Wednesday, and I just saw people moving into my room.”

Living in a hotel does have its array of benefits. Two queen-sized beds, continental breakfast, a private bathroom and maintenance once a week. However, Feng expressed that there is a “lack of community” and that “you can’t tell who is a student here and who is not.” This created a social barrier for many students living in the hotel. 

Personally, as an out-of-state student, arriving at Stony Brook brought an abundance of problems. My journey to Stony Brook was detoured as heavy rains postponed and eventually canceled all flights going to any regional airports. I emailed the Area Office for Mendelsohn Community, explained my situation and requested a later move-in time. Shortly after, a mass email was sent from the University, canceling all move-ins on Aug. 19 and Aug 20.

Forced to find a hotel, I arrived on campus to find other students moving in, despite receiving emails stating the opposite. The following morning, I received contradictory emails from Mendelsohn Community’s Area Office and the Emergency Operations Center about my move-in time. My parents and I decided to drive around campus to see if anyone could provide us with guidance. We were shocked to see students with suitcases in hand moving in. On Aug. 20, I decided to pack up all my things in the hopes the school would let me move in. I explained the situation to the resident assistants in the office and I was finally allowed to move in. My roommate moved in the following day. We were also notified that our room had been reclassified as a triple.

Our third roommate was scheduled to arrive on Aug. 22, leaving us one day to re-arrange everything in our room to make adequate space for our new roommate. When I asked how long we could expect to be tripled, I was told between 1 month and the rest of the year.

All personal grievances aside, the situations that many students experienced brings into question the strength of the campus’s emergency preparedness and response. While many students had different stories regarding how they eventually moved in, there is a common theme of inconsistent communication from the University. 

Being a school on the east coast calls for a certain level of flood preparedness due to hurricane season occurring simultaneously with the start of school. On Sept. 2, 2021, a similar conflict of flooding occurred with Hurricane Ida, affecting Mendlesohn Community. Students evacuated to East Side Dining between the hours of 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. to avoid the flooding, waiting between two to three days for their temporary residence assignments.

In both crises, the Mendlesohn Community seems to be the most affected by thunderstorms and flooding. Yet, there have been no visible changes to prevent these scenarios from happening again. While I understand that we cannot alter the path mother nature takes, we can be proactive with the way we handle crises and take steps to prevent such extremities in the future. Otherwise, we will face similar conflicts of confusion and frustration.

“When will we move in?” “Why are there still welcome week activities being advertised?” “What happens if I have nowhere to go?” Many questions were left unanswered as students and parents flooded Stony Brook residential halls’ emails and front desks. All this panic could have been alleviated with one thing: communication.

One mass email or video could have answered the questions students had and lessened the panic. Not much could be done about the flood or the damages already incurred, but the efforts the University decides to take in regards to conversing with students can allow for better preparedness in future chaotic situations like this one. 

Joshua Kim, a freshman biology major, is an international student from South Korea. While he was fortunate enough to have a place to stay, he recognized the struggles many other students were experiencing in finding a solution.

“There are no instructions on what to do besides the basic evacuations. We were never told anything,” Kim said. He suggested that Stony Brook should have an immediate response team ready to send out official information for emergency situations. 

“The response should be quick so everyone can deal with it quickly,” Kim said. Alongside this, he proposed informational manuals be provided, allowing students to know what to expect in these events.

Ultimately, the flood at Stony Brook exposed a critical flaw in the University’s response system: the school’s communication efforts during the flood were subpar.  While the University was able to mitigate the immediate effects of the flood, the question of reliability remains. The approach that the University took in informing students had inconsistencies and left many with unanswered questions. For many students, trust in emergency communication has wavered, constituting doubt in the safety of the students.

The flood at Stony Brook was a wake-up call. The University’s inadequate communication and support services exposed vulnerabilities critical to the safety of students and faculty. Moving forward, Stony Brook must prioritize improving their communication channels and providing greater support services to ensure that students, parents and faculty are not only prepared for future challenges but also feel valued and supported.