Scary, Scary, Sandra

Although it has been a few weeks since Hurricane Sandy hit, many of us are still dealing with the destruction it created in its path. My town was one of the many in Northern New Jersey that was hit particularly hard. Power lines came down, trees fell, and houses have been hit by them.

            Prior to the storm hitting my area, I called home to check in before my phone died. When I did, my mom informed me that our family friend's house already had three trees fall into it, part of another house had collapsed, and one more was on fire. This was all before the brunt of Hurricane Sandy came through our town. Luckily in the end no one was injured, but hearing about the severity of the storm was scary, especially considering my entire family was there and I was back at Lehigh.

            My family was fortunate enough that our house wasn’t damaged by any of the massive oak trees that line our block, but the power lines weren’t as lucky. My parents and siblings were stuck in our house for fourteen days without any power. No heat, no electricity, no refrigerator, no cable. Heading out to the cars in our garage to charge their phones was the most excitement that came throughout the two weeks for my family.

            Our neighborhood is slowly cleaning up the fallen trees, repairing the damaged roofs, and putting away the candles and flashlights. But as much as going two weeks without The Real Housewives of New York bothered my mom and sister, there are many families who are still dealing with the effects of the storm. My close friend had her entire house in Breezy Point, NY destroyed and has had to move into an apartment while the repairs begin. We all know someone who has been hit hard by Sandy or is still dealing with aftermath of the Hurricane. This is the time when we all need to do our part to help the victims of Sandy, and if we each donate a little we can help those who were hit.

#COMM30Sandy is an online class project for the Media & Society class at Lehigh University, taught by professor Jeremy Littau. You can donate to our campaign at this link, and for more information you can email Prof. Littau at jeremy.littau@lehigh.edu.