It is clear that Hurricane Sandy has definitely caused a lot of damage all around the state of New York, but it has also prevented students all along the East Coast from attending class.

For a week, thousands of students were either stuck at home or on campus due to heavy rain, wind and blocked roads.

For the students of Stony Brook University, the reactions toward this free time were mixed.

For Jackie Altan, a freshman undecided major, the week was quite lifeless. “I did nothing.” Altan said. “No one was on campus. It was so boring. I just stayed in my room and ate. I also went to Staller, Union and watched movies.”

For Rick Timmerman, a freshman majoring in business management, this week allowed him to relax and spend some time with his friends.

“I went on the tennis court and played with some of my teammates,” Timmerman said. “After that, we usually just sat in front of the TV and played video games or did our homework. Nothing crazy.”

Ericka Garufi, a junior majoring in psychology, took advantage of this time off to rest. “I stayed inside, hanged out with friends and slept.”

If the cancellations of classes gave most of the students the opportunity to rest, it couldn’t have come at a better time for some others.

Louise Badoche, a freshman majoring in biology, had the opportunity to catch up with some work in addition to experiencing a hurricane for the first time.

“I have studied for my classes all week,” says Badoche. “I am from France and it was the first time in my life that I lived an hurricane. I have to say that despite scaring me, this hurricane has totally shocked my parents as well as my friends back home. I received a dozen of emails from them, wondering if I was fine.”

For Jessica Kaplan, a freshman majoring in chemistry, this week was extremely frustrating.

“I live in Connecticut and I was not able to take the ferry,” Kaplan said. “I wish I could have gone home earlier. There wasn’t anything to do on campus. Because of the hurricane, my roommates and I had to move our room around, so one of the beds was in the middle of the room. I watched six movies in less than three days.”

According to Khanh Linh Pham, a sophomore majoring in Biology, the first couple of days were terrifying.

“My roommate went home so I was all by myself,” Pham said. “ Luckily my friends let me stay with them. Otherwise, I might have passed out when the electricity went out.”

This situation has not only affected the students of Stony Brook University; it has also impacted students from all over Long Island.

Tatiana Rajaona, a junior from Molloy College majoring in finance, moved out and stayed for a week at her friend’s house.

“My friend’s parents didn’t want to let me stay on campus by myself since most of the facilities were closed,” Rajaona said. “At first, I enjoyed the days off but I found myself bored quite quickly. I stayed inside and spent most of the time in front of the TV and my computer before we lost power.”

Julien Philippe, a junior from Fairleigh Dickinson University majoring in management, found it amusing to see how students reacted to the newfound spare time.

“It was really interesting to see how dependent everybody was on their electronic mobile devices,” Philippe said. “As soon as the Internet and power went out, most of us didn’t know what to do. Instead of trying to get to know each other better, we just sat around and complained.”

Even though the storm has passed, the consequences of this natural disaster will be palpable for a long time. Students’ lives will definitely take a long time to return to normal due to class cancellations and major damages.