Making Up for Lost Time

 Hurricane Sandy prompts revised fall schedule; get the details here by Erika Gomez

Hurricane Sandy took the tri-state area by surprise with its powerful winds and strong water currents. For the first time since the terrorist attacks New York City was at a stand still. Subways were flooded and trains were out of commission. That only meant one thing for students at the City College of New York: NO SCHOOL.

Although students were overjoyed with the time off, reality soon set in with the immense amount of work students had waiting for them in the first week back. “Sandy could not of come at a worse time!” says Aaron Bisnath, a CCNY biology major at City College. “All my midterms are bunched together in the same week. I have two for my microbiology class and two more lab midterms.”

To make matters worse, students like Bisnath can expect this intense semester to drag on even longer: Interim Provost Maurizio Trevisan recently sent out a mass email to the student body announcing additional days to make up for the unplanned mini- vacation.

“I realize that for many of you, academic life has resumed among still very challenging circumstances,” begins the email. After the moment of empathy for the student body, Dr. Trevisan continued the email with these specifics, explaining how the college will recup lost class time:

City College will end up using Reading Day, December 13 and the first Friday of the exam period: December 14 to make up classes missed on Monday and Thursday. For classes missed on Tuesday and Wednesday the school is offering faculty to chose a flexible option for their students.

Some faculty members like the flexible choice. “I understand students and their schedules, I mean most of them work, right?” says Joseph Castora, a professor of history at CCNY. “I made my make-up class optional even though I would prefer all of them to be there.”

How do students feel about the news?

‘To be honest, I’m not going to come in on those make-up days,” insists Denisha Alvarado, an education major. “I have personal things to do and I have to work,” says the 22-year old student.

Others are taking the changes in stride.  “For me personally I don’t really mind coming in; it doesn’t effect me either way,” says Asian Studies major Akeem Hill calmly. “My professors are cool and I like my classes this semester so its no bother.”