Students unfazed by storm's severe weather

As the wind picked up and the rain began to fall yesterday afternoon, students on campus showed relative indifference to the threat of oncoming Hurricane Isabel -- which was later downgraded to a tropical storm. The hurricane hit land on the Outer Banks of North Carolina yesterday afternoon, and the greatest force was scheduled to hit Philadelphia around 10 p.m. last night. Yesterday, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard to help deal with problems that could arise. By 5 p.m., Isabel had knocked out power to more than a million people throughout Virginia and North Carolina. Still, despite all of the news stories and the constant WeatherBug warnings, students didn't seem worried. According to Freshgrocer store manager Ross Del Romano, the store has been selling more bottled water, batteries and flashlights than normal -- but to neighborhood residents, not Penn students. "Even with [last year's] snow, students didn't care," he said. "Students don't seem to be affected by the weather." Many students did note that they were watching www.weather.com more closely than usual to monitor the storm's progress. Others said they were taking more proactive approaches. Several students, including Engineering senior Pat Pfeifer and College freshman David Back planned to counter Isabel's forces by closing their windows. Wharton sophomore Casey Anderson thought that he might go and purchase a raincoat to combat the downpour. For some students, the prospect of a hurricane is new and exciting. "I'm from Colorado," Back said. "We don't get a lot of rain, even. I'm looking forward to it." Although students are not taking many precautions in anticipation of the hurricane, the University does have a complex plan to combat any damage the wind and rain might cause overnight and tomorrow. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. yesterday, a large team of Facilities workers scoured the campus looking for potential problem areas, said Tony Sorrentino, executive vice president spokesman. From 4 p.m. on, he said, the Emergency Operations Center will be activated, and Facilities and Safety employees will be reporting to it all night. The EOC keeps tabs on the campus terrain in order to combat many problems as they occur. Facilities Services has also secured all potential debris, including benches and trash cans on campus, and has a supply of pumps, chainsaws and vehicles at the ready in case of emergency, Sorrentino said. The only question that remains unanswered from a University standpoint is whether classes will be canceled today. Sorrentino did not care to speculate, referring all inquiries to the University's Emergency Information Line, 898-MELT. At press time, classes were still scheduled to proceed as normal, and all University offices remained open. College sophomore Alan Blank, however, said he "was pretty confident [classes] should be canceled." Isabel did cause some events yesterday to change venue or get canceled. The Fox Leadership Program postponed its speaker series, and the Social Planning and Events Committee's "Wild Night in Vegas" event was moved from Wynn Commons to the Hall of Flags in Houston Hall. Many students were prepared to sit back and enjoy the wild weather and didn't plan on changing their schedules as a result of the storm. Several fraternities were planning on celebrating the evening with "Hurricane" parties, complete with 40 oz. Hurricane malt beverages. "I don't think it should be that bad," Pfeifer said. "It's supposed to stop raining on Saturday."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.