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UB helping students and families
impacted by Hurricane Sandy
Atlantic City, N.J., 10/31/12: The historic boardwalk was destroyed by fierce winds that hit here during Hurricane Sandy. UB is pulling together to help students, their families and others affected by the destructive storm. Photo LIZ ROLL/FEMA
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A wide cross section of UB is pulling together to help students, their families and others affected by Hurricane Sandy.
The university, which is home to roughly 5,100 students from New York City, Long Island and New Jersey, is working with the American Red Cross to collect and distribute goods such as nonperishable food, clothing and blankets. Collection sites will be set up throughout the university and during the UB Bulls men’s basketball and football games on Nov. 10.
Faculty and staff are being asked to be as flexible as possible with students directly affected by the storm who may need personal time to assist loved ones or check on family. Students experiencing difficulty paying their spring semester tuition bill due to financial stress, the inability to transfer funds or other storm-related problems should either email the Office of Student Accounts at UBstudentaccounts@buffalo.edu or call 716-645-1800.
UB and the Red Cross also are organizing blood drives and student volunteer opportunities—likely to occur near Thanksgiving and between the fall and spring semesters—to help with various response efforts.
During Thanksgiving break, UB’s Office of Parking and Transportation Services will expand its holiday “Express Bus Home” charter service to New York City for students whose parents cannot pick them up. Campus Living, meanwhile, will accommodate any students who live on campus and are not able to go home for Thanksgiving.
“The university has been monitoring this storm since its inception. We have deployed resources to ensure that members of the UB family are taken care of to the extent possible during this time of need,” says Dennis Black, vice president of university life and services.
Over the past few days, the university has taken steps to help students, their parents and other family members in storm-ravaged areas reach one another and stay in contact, Black says. On campus, counseling is being offered to students through Campus Ministries Association and Counseling Services.
UB also plans to offer an alternative spring break program for students who want to volunteer in areas of New York City still struggling to recover from the storm.
UB administrators began monitoring Sandy last week as it formed in the Caribbean. As the storm tracked up the East Coast and onto the mainland, UB regularly posted notices and updates on its homepage and other websites, as well as information at the Student Union, dining halls and on its campus cable system. Parents were kept informed about the storm’s impact on the campus and Western New York through UB’s Parent Program website.
UB will continue to assist students, and keep them and family members informed on news as it becomes available, Black says. UB parent and alumni events planned for Nov. 3-4 in New York City and Long Island have been postponed so that participants can focus on their own needs and the needs of their neighbors.
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