With many of NYU’s residence halls still in the dark on Wednesday afternoon, hundreds of students relocated to Kimmel, The Global Center for Academic and Spiritual Life, and other NYU residence halls powered by the school’s independent co-generation plant. There, students staked out floor space and outlets and prepared for a wait that could last until the weekend.

Four freshmen sat against a wall of the Grand Hall on the fifth floor of the Global Center for Academic and Spiritual Life. The students, who left Rubin last night, said that they had spent the night on the floor there and planned to remain. On either side, a row of chairs fenced off their blanketed commune, which had expanded as friends continued to leave their residence halls. The four founders of the site said that their night had been cold, and that other students sharing the space had remained active as late as 2 am. Still, their spirits were high. One girl in the group said she found time to start “The Walking Dead,” and they had plans to rush the Broadway show “Once” for hurricane tickets.

In the Eisner and Lubin Auditorium on Kimmel’s fourth floor, three friends sat next to a pile of blankets and pillows on the elevated stage. The trio had spent a “freezing” night in that spot after leaving Brittany Hall on Tuesday evening, and were taking shifts guarding it. “Morale is high,” they agreed. “NYU Dining is great,” one of the students chipped in. “Make sure you put that in there.”

NYU Local also conducted an informal survey of those in Kimmel and the GCASL, asking students how they were keeping themselves occupied. “Homework” lead with 9 responses, followed by “Netflix.” Specifically, students were watching “Law and Order: SVU,” “X Files,” “Family Guy,” and one student was “deciding between either ‘Sexual Chronicles of a French Family’ or ‘Hansel and Gretel,’” Some students played video games on their laptops, including Civilization V, Plants vs. Zombies, Minecraft, and Bioshock 2. Many browsed Facebook and read the news, catching up on days of missed coverage. We’ll be continuing to report here.

[Photos by Brett Chamberlin]