Stony Brook University could not avoid the influence of Hurricane Sandy. All classes were officially cancelled for an entire week, and entertainment events were postponed.

These delays were especially disappointing for students, not just because of the severe devastation to Long Island, but because everything on campus was cancelled.

The first of the cancellations made on campus was the postponing of the film screening by the Staller Center for the Arts which was scheduled for Oct. 28. The scheduled movies, “Night of the Living Dead” and “Shaun of the Dead,” were instead shown on Wednesday, Oct. 31 at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. respectively.

Although many students were discouraged since their original Halloween plans had been ruined, the movies provided a great pastime for students who were tired of the small screens on their TVs and laptops.

Naomi Arima, a junior exchange student majoring in communications, was one of them. “I think the school did a meaningful thing that they postponed that event, rather than cancel it, because we all got bored and really disappointed that many of the events related to Halloween were canceled,” Arima said. “I couldn’t even feel any Halloween atmosphere if there was not the screening. By throwing the show, it gave us not only an opportunity to get out of our room but also some courage to stand in this serious situation. I’m so thankful they did not cancel the event.”

Thus, many students ventured out of their rooms and got to experience a bit of entertainment in midst of all the gloom.

Apart from the movies, the Craft Center and SBU Weekend Life helped students make better use of their time. The Craft Center in the Stony Brook Union hosted “Halloween Craft Night” on Oct. 31.

Halloween crafts such as mask making, pumpkin decorating and door decals were introduced. Stella Huang, a junior psychology major, and Nicole Bustamante, a junior health science major, had a great time in the Craft Center. Bustamante stated that “Stella and I had great fun making pumpkin ornaments.

The Craft Center was a good place to relax doing crafting.”  Also, “Vegas Night,” hosted by SBU Weekend Life Council, provided four hours of casino games and performances in the Student Activities Center Ballroom B on Nov. 2.

All of these events allowed students to interact with one another and make do with the difficult aftermath of the hurricane.

Except for those events, most of the other campus events have been cancelled or delayed. The Veterans Day Ceremony and Hispanic Heritage Month Closing Ceremony were cancelled, and Stony Brook Composers events have been delayed to next year.

Also, the Stony Brook Symphony Orchestra concert, scheduled for Nov. 3, has been postponed. The music department has yet to decide on a new date for the performance.

The International Student Organization cancelled its fourth General Body Meeting “Let’s Waltz,” which was planned on Nov. 6, and replaced it with a committee meeting for hurricane recovery.

ISO president Audrey See Tho, a senior psychology major, said that the organization’s members had decided to cancel the event because of weather for the first time. “We thought that people wouldn’t come.

The advantage of cancelling the event was giving a time for people to take a break and relax because a lot of people’s schedule has messed up. It might be better to interact with other people instead of staying at home, but I thought that time for recovery would be needed.”

She also stated that ISO is ready to help students who suffered from the hurricane, emphasizing the role of the club.

The aftermath of Sandy was, and still is, huge, but the campus is on the road to recovery tries to return to normal. New events in the main entertainment hubs including the Staller Center, the Union, and the SAC are in progress.

At the Staller Center, the University Orchestra’s opening concert will be performed at Nov. 13 at 8 p.m. Turtle Island String Quartet with Tierney Sutton is scheduled on Nov. 17, also at 8 p.m.

There will be “Healthier U Workshop: Be Smart about Exercise” in the SAC on Nov. 14 at 12 p.m. with required registration. The hurricane took a large toll on many students, faculty members and the campus as a whole, but, given time, the campus can return to a state of normalcy and continue hosting programs to enhance student life.