East coast students offered support in wake of Irene

The Office of Student Affairs sent emails Monday to students whose permanent addresses indicate their homes might have been affected by Hurricane Irene.

The email reminded students a counseling service is available for all of those who might need emotional support during difficult times, but some students said  as of Monday night they had not received the email as of Monday night.

Joyce Fienman, a senior majoring in history, said she was curious as to why she didn’t receive the email even though she is from Arlington, Mass.

“I would be interested as to what it says,” Fienman said. “[But] since I wasn’t personally affected by the hurricane, I don’t mind that I didn’t receive the email.”

The email encouraged students to get in touch with USC Student Counseling Services if family members were in any way affected by the storm.

“We err on the side of caution,” said Maria Pozo-Humphreys, assistant director of Student Counseling Services. “We always want to be prepared in the event there is some emergency.”

She said USC does not expect much student response.

“As you know, the hurricane did not turn out to be as strong as they thought and as lethal as they thought it might be,” Pozo-Humphreys said. “I’m not hearing a lot of devastating information.”

Sam Silverman, a sophomore majoring in international relations, said he didn’t know a counseling service exists.

“My family was in Long Island and they had to evacuate,” Silverman said. “They were locked in their apartment for six hours. The hurricane definitely affected them.”

Students who received the email said they were grateful for the support it offered. Alex Hofmann, a senior majoring in history and political science, said he and his family were worried about their house in Ocean City, N.J. flooding.

“I thought it was a great thing to offer and everything,” Hofmann said. “I think it would have been really good if something bad had happened.”

The Office of Student Affairs said it periodically sends emails when events that might impact students occur because it wants students to know they offer extra support.