Gunman on campus
University Police received a report that a young male fled the Student Activity Center Cafeteria and later displayed what was reported as a handgun. The individual was reported to be an African American male, approximately 25 years of age, wearing a black coat and black wool hat. He fled in the direction of Harriman Hall. University Police are searching the area and investigating the report. Remain alert, proceed with caution and notify University Police if you see anyone fitting the description of the individual or anything unusual. You can reach University Police by callling 911 from any campus phone or 632-3333. Feb. 25, 2008 2:51 pm
At the end of my Theatre 101 class, a student announced that he received a text message about an "armed perpetrator" in the academic mall. Several other students began receiving the same message via text and voicemail. There were no specific instructions about how to handle this situation, just to "remain on high alert". Professors weren't instructed to lock their doors, or keep their students in the classroom. Stephanie didn't feel that it was safe enough so she went back to her room. I called Peter and informed him; He too was going to skip his 2:20 class.
I remained in the campus bookstore for 10 minutes waiting for more news. Using a laptop with a connection there, I found out that the SB Alert page didn't have any information. The employees had the entrances locked and were only letting students out of the store.
As I walked out of the bookstore and headed back to my room, I noticed how eerily quiet and deserted the campus was. There were only a handful of students in the academic mall. More information to come if it's blogworthy.
written at 4:17 PM on February 25, 2008
Watching the lunar eclipse on a chilly night
Normally I wouldn't stand outside for an hour in the blistering cold ... but when I heard that there was going to be a total lunar eclipse, I was willing to brave tonight's strong winds and 20°F weather. I had heard about this event at least a week in advance and my friend Peter had planned for us to watch it in a field, away from the surrounding lights.
I went to meet up with Stephanie and Peter around 8:40 PM. At that time, the eclipse was already underway. The change was noticeable: when the moon wanes, it's harder to see the side of the moon in the shadow. Instead of having a crescent shape, the moon tonight was obviously a full moon, but with a quarter of it darkened.
Peter brought Jessie and Tasnuva over and after watching TV until 10:00 PM, we headed out the door. I was surprised to see throngs of people outside. One person in Mendelsohn quad had even set up a telescope, in the grassy pit. The moon shrunk to half its size and took on a crimson red color. (the result of sunlight reflecting off of the dust in the Earth's atmosphere) I started taking photos and most of them came out horrendous. I'm really bad at taking night shots. Here is a video however, of the lunar eclipse at 10:36 PM. Everyone was looking up and it felt like the whole world was watching the moon.
Before long, the cold had sunk in and we were all shivering. Some of us waited for more than an hour outside but I don't think that the moon was ever fully eclipsed by the Earth. There was some cloud cover, so it was hard to tell how much of the moon was in the Earth's shadow. We somehow entertained ourselves for an hour, just staring up at the night sky. The reddish tint on the moon seemed to be fading during this time. At a certain point, the moon looked like a small peach in the sky! I have another video clip of the lunar eclipse at 10:49 PM. We returned to our rooms soon after.
This is a photo of how the moon looked around 3:00 AM. My apologies for the bad photo. I know, it looks more like a spotlight than a moon. Tonight was worth it though. There was a large turnout for viewing the eclipse, and we all enjoyed it.
written at 5:04 AM on February 21, 2008
Textbook Woes
After two weeks of waiting, my long-overdue textbook arrived at Stony Brook. Only I ordered the wrong textbook from Amazon. I had ordered High Court Case Summaries - Constitutional Law 10th Edition when I really needed Criminal Law, 4th Edition. I was thrown off by the cover, and the similarity between the words Constitutional and Criminal. I easily overlooked that error.
So it's the fourth week of classes, and I need this textbook. I go to the Campus Bookstore (my last resort) and find out that they're out of stock again! I had to put in a special order (prepaid for my textbook) at the front desk and pray for it to come in by Monday of next week.
written at 5:13 PM on February 20, 2008
Monday always delivers
The weekend was over too soon. Stephanie turned our sleeping schedules upside down, when she stayed up all night for some assignment due Friday. Our weekend consisted of Saturday and Sunday nights, and we stayed up until dawn of the next day. It was a miracle that we even woke up for our 12:50 class today.
Of course, with Monday comes rain. I attended all of my classes today in spite of that. I went to my 5:20 PM class late because I had to double back to my room for an umbrella. That turned out to be a good decision because it was pouring hard later.
In my 5:20 class (Politics in the Third World) my professor used the TV show House M.D. as an example to compare newly independent countries in the 1950s to House's patients. She listed a bunch of symptoms of these "ill patients" like poor, politically unstable, etc. She asked what the possible disease was, to which I replied "Lupus." She laughed out loud and said, "It's never Lupus!"
written at 7:26 PM on February 18, 2008
Valentine's Day: Also known as Singles Awareness Day (SAD)
Year after year, it's the same story: "I don't have a Valentine." There are too many lonely girls and guys who complain about not having a significant other and any plans for February 14th. All they do is whine about how lonely and depressed they are, that no one sent them gifts for Valentine's Day, and how they wish they were in a relationship.
Maybe if you singles spent your time looking instead of sulking and hating couples, you'd have a special someone to appreciate Valentine's Day with. You can't wait for true love to come to you on a silver platter. Get up, go out and find it yourself.
written at 2:32 AM on February 14, 2008
When it rains it pours
It looked bad enough from my room: Puddles all over and raindrops hitting my window. I felt obligated to attend the Rifle Club meeting at the SAC at 1:00 PM, so I got ready to leave by then. My umbrella was in Stephanie's room, so I walked out with a hoodie, jeans and boots. The hoodie surprisingly kept me dry during the walk to the SAC.
But the hoodie was thoroughly soaked when I stepped outside a second time... I needed my umbrella back or I'd be miserable in my evening classes. The sidewalks leading to Stephanie's building were flooded, like up to my ankles. If I didn't have boots on, my socks would be wet too.
I'm back in my room for a quick change of clothing. I'm going to be late for class, so I'm going to head back out into the rain.
written at 5:06 PM on February 13, 2008
Eventful night
I have been obsessively checking the weather nowadays, since the arctic chill over the weekend caught me unprepared. When I saw snow forecast for this afternoon, I didn't think it was going to be that serious. But when I got out of my 5:10 PM class, I could see that a thick layer of snow blanketed the campus. Stony Brook hasn't shoveled or salted most of the high "foot-traffic" areas or sidewalks. One of my suitemates slipped on the steep slope of the Tabler steps. Everyone should be extra careful in these icy conditions.
Today was apparently "National Pancake Day" and Stephanie invited me to go with her, Jack, and Louise to IHOP for a free short stack of pancakes. We got to Jack's car around 8:30 PM, and started brushing snow from the windshield and windows. Jack brought out a handy snow brush/cleaner from the trunk to speed up the process. When we were done, Jack realized that he left the keys inside the car. The doors are locked and the engine is running. No problem, right? There was supposed to be a spare carkey in his room. But when Louise couldn't find them, we began to panic. Jack tried opening the door with a coathanger. Long story short: Geico arrived some time later and helped unlock the car door. By then, it was too late for pancakes because IHOP was closing. We ordered breakfast food at a diner to make up for it.
A suitemate informed me in the afternoon that I got a roommate. Because I had my belongings scattered all over, I planned to rearrange the room later that night, after the health and safety room inspection and the trip to IHOP. I came back around 11:30 PM to find an extra mattress leaning against the wall. I began moving furniture in anticipation of him arriving the next day. Imagine my surprise when he shows up right then! I moved the desks and beds back to where they were before, while talking and getting to know my new roommate. He unexpectedly passed out a full hour ago, so I guess I should call it a night.
written at 3:24 AM on February 13, 2008
Start of the third week
Last night was absolutely freezing. I trekked back to my side of campus for thicker clothing, and that trip became the longest 25 minutes of my life. By the time I opened my door, I was wheezing and my face was throbbing painfully.
This will be the third week of classes for me. I'm waiting on two of my textbooks to arrive in the mail. These textbooks are important for my classes, but fortunately I'm only missing out on some assigned readings.
I will be lending a helping hand with some Stony Brook related websites this semester. I will try to accomodate them into my already busy schedule.
written at 7:15 PM on February 11, 2008
Rain and skateboards don't mix
Here are some words of advice for skateboarders and longboarders in Stony Brook: Don't skateboard in the rain. I don't know if anyone had ever told you this or if you figured it out by yourself, but exposure to water or moisture warps wood. It only takes one ride outside in the rain (or over puddles) to ruin a $100+ skateboard.
written at 5:58 PM on February 6, 2008
Long Island Drivers
There is something unique in Stony Brook University that you probably wouldn't find anywhere else. It's not just the campus or the students per se... it's the Long Island drivers. Why are Long Island drivers so notorious at Stony Brook?
You'll need to learn the "anatomy of a Long Island driver" to get a sense of how horrible they are. According to a CNN Article, New Yorkers are among the worst drivers in the United States. Take into account that Long Island is a relatively affluent region in New York, so common vehicles on the road are sports and luxury cars, and SUVs. Stony Brook is a university so we have factors like: new and inexperienced drivers, reaching the drinking age of 21, underage drinking, etc. Long Island drivers at Stony Brook would be the worst of their kind then. Not even pedestrians on the sidewalk are safe from them!
Here are some typical examples of Long Island drivers at their worst: In my freshman year, I witnessed a car weaving dangerously on rte. 97 (like a racecar driver preventing others from passing), and it turned out that the female driver was rummaging through her purse in the passenger seat. Drivers go at over twice the posted speed limit of that road. Some of them blatantly plow through the crosswalk while pedestrians are still crossing the road. Stop signs are not even slowed down for, let alone stopped at.
A car is essential when you're living or dorming in Long Island. The only problem is sharing the road with these Long Island drivers. If you're a Stony Brook student about to take your road test, get it done outside of Long Island: it'll give your driver's license more credibility.
written at 6:34 PM on February 5, 2008
First week of classes
I like my room and I like my new suitemates. I don't have a roommate right now, so I'm technically in a large single. The only problem is that I have glow-in-the-dark handprints on my ceiling. I am very disturbed by them. It may sound silly right now, but when I turn off the lights at night and I'm lying in bed, I can see these handprints very clearly in the pitch-black room.
My first week of classes was interesting. I attended all of Monday's. I found it ironic that one of my professors cancelled class that day to attend a job interview. Later on, I caused Stephanie to be late for her 6:50 (sorry!). By the time we got to her classroom, it was completely filled up. It was so crowded that there were even students standing in the back of the room. Rather than leave her standing for an hour and 20 minutes, I went to a neighboring classroom—which happened to be empty—and brought a desk over. I made a loud racket bringing the desk through the doorway, and I'm sure everyone was staring in my direction. It must have been completely embarrassing for Stephanie when I presented it to her. She told me after class that her desk blocked the doorway and people had to struggle to get in and out of the room. :-)
On Tuesday, I spent some time before class to assemble my syllabi into one big "semester planner." It took longer than I thought it would, and I had to rush out the door 10 minutes before the start of class. I ran all the way to the Old Chemistry building and towards the classrooms... when suddenly I had a lapse of memory and couldn't remember what the room number was. I had lost all motivation to attend my classes at that point and left the building. I know that I should have called someone and asked, but I felt like taking the day off. Attendance is usually mandatory in my classes, and the first day of classes is the only time when I'm allowed to be absent. Fortunately, I didn't miss anything important on Tuesday but the syllabi, which were already posted online.
Stephanie's parents dropped by on Saturday and we had lunch at John Harvard's near Smithhaven Mall. I really enjoyed my avocado chicken club, half of which I saved and brought back for dinner. We went shopping at Costco and Stop&Shop later that afternoon. The Stop&Shop apparently ran out of Squirt in both bottle and sodacan form, which was very unfortunate for us. We can still subsist on school beverages in the meantime.
Today is Superbowl Sunday. I'm not much of a football fan, but I am excited that the New York Giants made it to Superbowl XLII. Go New York Giants!
written at 6:00 PM on February 3, 2008