When Hurricane Sandy swept across the East Coast last week, thousands of valuable research mice and rats at New York University’s Langone Medical Center perished as the unprecedented storm surge flooded the basement of the school’s Smilow Research Center.

Politics have flooded news portals for the last 16 months. How refreshing, to have a non-partisan two days.

While Sandy left our campus largely unscathed, the University was prepared for much worse.

Though Hurricane Sandy put a halt to classes and operations at Penn over the past two days, University officials acknowledged that the storm — which caused massive power outages, flooding and at least 48 deaths up and down the Eastern Seaboard — largely spared the campus community.

Despite being stuck inside for most of Monday and Tuesday, students passed the time in a variety of ways — some more unconventional than others.

On Monday night, as Hurricane Sandy ravaged the mid-Atlantic coast, 2010 College graduate Jessie Streich-Kest was killed by a falling tree near her home in Brooklyn, N.Y. She was 24.

On Monday morning, members of the Division of Public Safety gathered in the Emergency Operations Center to anticipate the potentially disastrous effects of Hurricane Sandy.

Campus and the city of Philadelphia alike have been preparing for the arrival of Hurricane Sandy since Sunday night. VIDEO: Preparing for Hurricane Sandy PHOTO GALLERY: Hurricane Sandy PreparationPHOTO GALLERY: Hurricane Sandy at Penn

While campus is waiting for Hurricane Sandy to arrive in full force, college house staff are trying to promote safety while finding creative ways to keep their residents entertained.

It’s around 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon, and the doors of West Philadelphia High School still don’t appear to be open.

In response to the looming severe weather threat of Hurricane Sandy, the Office of Admissions has extended the deadline for early decision applications to 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 6.

On Sunday afternoon, a line for an Amtrak train out of Philadelphia stretched nearly the length of 30th Street Station, Philadelphia’s central regional rail hub. Screens around the station projected precautionary evacuation procedure plans and exits.

Students will be stuck inside for most of the next two days, following Penn’s announcement earlier Sunday that all classes and University operations have been cancelled. VIDEO: Preparing for Hurricane Sandy PHOTO GALLERY: Hurricane Sandy PreparationPHOTO GALLERY: Hurricane Sandy at Penn

Classes for Monday and Tuesday have been cancelled due to the predicted severity of Hurricane Sandy, Penn announced in a campus-wide email Sunday.

The University’s Crisis Management Team is closely monitoring an imminent hurricane headed toward the Philadelphia region early Tuesday morning.