Spirits are surprisingly high around the NYU campus right now, just one day after Hurricane Sandy made landfall in Manhattan on Monday night. Although the streets are quiet, people seem to be out stretching their legs after being holed up in dark apartments for the better part of two days. Kimmel, whose power comes from NYU’s cogeneration plant, has been providing food and water for students, even giving a place for students to sleep after being relocated from dorms all over lower Manhattan.

Upon entering Kimmel, you  see students huddled around outlets with laptops and phone chargers, trying to call their loved ones to make sure everyone is safe. No one is distressed, though. Students can be seen in the commuter lounge sharing screens to watch movies; some are playing cards in the second floor lounge, passing around bags of chips. With classes suspended until next week, there were probably be more events scheduled to keep us occupied.

On the third floor, Kimmel’s cafetria has been transformed into a dining room that resembles a relief center, with plastic fold-up tables serving trays of pasta salad, beans, chicken, and sandwiches. One server said, “Don’t forget your chips!” There’s a table serving coffee and tea and another with small bottles of water for students to take, completely free of charge.

Photos by Julia Berke.