{"id":1256,"date":"2013-04-12T15:34:45","date_gmt":"2013-04-12T19:34:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/magazine\/?p=1256"},"modified":"2025-01-28T09:18:58","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T14:18:58","slug":"after-the-storm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/magazine\/2013\/04\/after-the-storm\/","title":{"rendered":"After The Storm"},"content":{"rendered":"

Superstorm Sandy devastated families \u2014 and whole communities \u2014 throughout the metropolitan area.
\nMany in the Seton Hall community rushed to provide assistance.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Altruism\u2019s Reward<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a>Yveline Dalmacy has had a lot of experience organizing humanitarian aid. In 2007, she helped send a container ship loaded with 1,500 boxes of clothes, toys, sewing machines, medical equipment and other supplies to her native Haiti following the twin disasters of Hurricane Noel and a devastating earthquake.*<\/p>\n

Never did the diplomacy graduate student think she\u2019d be on the receiving end of such assistance \u2014 especially not from her professors and counselors at the Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations.<\/p>\n

All of which may simply prove the old adage that \u201cwhat goes around comes around,\u201d she says, relating what has befallen her family since the effects of Superstorm Sandy hit her Coney Island, N.Y., home.<\/p>\n

On Oct. 28, the day before the storm arrived, Dalmacy was preoccupied caring for her daughter Anabelle, 13 months old at the time. Also at home was her 21-year-old daughter, Tatiana, an undergraduate at Kennesaw State University. Her husband, Dr. Kesler Dalmacy, was away in Haiti.<\/p>\n

Yveline Dalmacy was unaware that a 14-foot tidal surge and 80-mile-an-hour winds were hours away from her front door, which she says is \u201cabout 10 steps from the ocean.\u201d<\/p>\n

She received a phone call from a friend, asking: \u201cDid you evacuate?\u201d<\/p>\n

Dalmacy was stunned by the question, saying she \u201chad no idea there was an evacuation in effect.\u201d She and her older daughter quickly gathered a few odd items, then fled by car with Anabelle through their nearly vacant neighborhood.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t even take time to pack because of a mother\u2019s fear that the water would engulf us,\u201d she says. Behind them, most of their possessions would be destroyed by the mass of water. It was so bad that a neighbor two doors down drowned, she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cYveline is quite a remarkable student,\u201d says Elizabeth Halpin, assistant dean of external affairs for the School of Diplomacy and International Relations. In 2010 she worked with Dalmacy on a campus awareness program on the plight of Haitians after the earthquake that year.<\/p>\n

\"yveline--after-the-storm\"<\/a>Dalmacy, 45, left Haiti at age 13 to come to the United States, where she became a citizen and prospered. She earned high school, undergraduate and M.B.A. degrees, and worked for a while at the nonprofit aid organization Oraiso, where she was involved in relief work for Haiti.<\/p>\n

By 2000, she had landed a prestigious job at Morgan Stanley\u2019s private banking practice in New York. But the tug of her husband\u2019s work as a physician and politician in Haiti \u2014 he ran for president in 2010 \u2014 in combination with her own desire to help her native country, led Dalmacy to the School of Diplomacy and International Relations. She now is a few credits away from a master\u2019s degree with specializations in global health and human security, and international economics and development.<\/p>\n

Thanks to Superstorm Sandy, however, Dalmacy\u2019s graduation will be later than expected. In fact, not much has been expected. Her first port in the storm was a friend\u2019s house in New York, \u201cwho was willing to take us in,\u201d she says. But, realizing she needed to be independent, Dalmacy booked a room at a New Jersey hotel \u201cthat was the only place I could find.\u201d<\/p>\n

She was driven by fear that there would \u201cbe no food, water or milk for my baby.\u201d And that, she says, is exactly what happened. Worse, at the hotel, \u201cwe did not have power or water for two days. It was horrible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, deadlines were looming for a major paper.<\/p>\n

So, Dalmacy managed to get a message to Professor Martin Edwards that she was \u201cgoing to be late in getting it done.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"afterthestorm584[2]\"<\/a>That\u2019s when Halpin and others at the school rallied to begin a drive to help the family. What was needed most were warm clothes for Anabelle; they immediately started to pile up in Halpin\u2019s office until Dalmacy was able to collect them.<\/p>\n

Dalmacy was leading a nomadic existence, moving from friends\u2019 homes to motels and back. She was also dealing with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and insurance companies, and coming to grips with her family\u2019s losses after 22 years in their home.<\/p>\n

How bad was the devastation? \u201cWe had just redone the kitchen,\u201d Dalmacy says. \u201cWhen I returned, I found my refrigerator sitting on top of the kitchen counter. Everything was gone, swept away by close to six feet of water. It was the most devastating feeling you can ever go through.\u201d<\/p>\n

The help from Seton Hall was a pleasant surprise.<\/p>\n

\"afterstormstufftruck1412\"<\/a>\u201cThey collected food, clothing \u2014 mostly for the baby \u2014 diapers, kitchen utensils and other items. They even provided me with a small monetary donation.\u201d Dalmacy credits Halpin for proving a \u201chuge, huge support\u201d as her liaison with the school\u2019s group. All her professors pitched in, Dalmacy says, with some sending her books \u201cbecause I lost my library, which included books I\u2019d been collecting since high school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Something else arrived, too: a note from Ursula Sanjamino, one of the school\u2019s two associate deans. It read, in part, \u201cJust a few items from my daughters and me for your little one. Continue to believe things will get better. They will. Stay safe and strong.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I read that, it brought tears to my eyes,\u201d says Dalmacy. \u201cI had no idea that my school was going to step up, but the next thing I knew the school was holding a drive for me. I don\u2019t know how I would have gotten through without their support.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sanjamino offers a simple explanation: \u201cWe have a very strong sense of community at the School of Diplomacy and International Relations and we support each other in difficult times.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, although still homeless, Dalmacy feels lucky to be both alive and connected to the South Orange campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always been proud to be a Seton Hall student. But I did not realize how lucky I was to be a part of this community until this disaster struck.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked to sum up her recent experience, Dalmacy had this to say: \u201cThe thing I want people to take away from my story is that whenever you have a chance to do good, do good, because although altruism is its own reward, you never know when it will come back to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Responding to Disaster<\/h3>\n

Superstorm Sandy caused more than 30 deaths in New Jersey and at least $29.4 billion in damage, according to official reports. But the storm\u2019s destructive path left the campus relatively unscathed and fully functional, which allowed the Seton Hall community to quickly reach out to those in need.<\/p>\n

Here are some of the ways Seton Hall responded:<\/p>\n

Division of Volunteer Efforts<\/h4>\n

\u201cAny time there\u2019s a local or national disaster, Seton Hall responds,\u201d says Michelle Peterson, director of the Division of Volunteer Efforts (DOVE). After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the University sponsored 23 New Orleans university students who began to call Seton Hall home that fall. \u201cWhen this hit, people immediately started to ask how Seton Hall would respond.\u201d<\/p>\n

The answer was impressive, with DOVE coordinating donations (totaling $10,166.50) on the school\u2019s website and collecting clothing and food at its offices and at 15 drop-boxes around campus.<\/p>\n

The DOVE offices in Boland Hall repeatedly filled up \u201cto the point where we couldn\u2019t even move around,\u201d says Peterson. That\u2019s when vans would deliver the goods to Catholic Charities, Newark, to replenish food pantries and create new distribution mechanisms where pantries had been destroyed.<\/p>\n

Housing and Residence Life<\/h4>\n

When Tara Hart, director of Housing and Residence Life, and her staff realized the school had not lost power, and that even Internet and cable television service were working, her team sent out a Pirate Alert query asking: \u201cAre you disposed to help a fellow Pirate in need?\u201d Resident students were asked to host stranded or commuter students unable to get gasoline. Of the nearly 1,000 students who stayed on campus while the University was closed, 141 quickly opened their doors, saying, as Hart puts it, \u201cYep, come crash on my floor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hart\u2019s team facilitated the influx of 66 students, the last of whom stayed for two-and-a-half weeks. To combat boredom, residence hall leaders staged entertainment and get-togethers, including movie nights, game nights, parties and pingpong tournaments. \u201cIt was a testament to student leadership,\u201d Hart says. \u201cWe\u2019re at our best when emergency situations arise.\u201d<\/p>\n

89.5 FM WSOU<\/h4>\n

The student-run radio station raised $9,535 for Superstorm Sandy relief efforts, surpassing the station\u2019s goal of $8,950, during an 18-hour radio-athon held on Nov. 30. Donations from 111 listeners were equally distributed between the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund and the Empire State Relief Fund.<\/p>\n

Mark Maben, WSOU\u2019s general manager, says the radio-athon \u201cwas very much a student-driven initiative.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the storm, we had 13 students who volunteered essentially to lock themselves into the station for a 48-hour period \u2014 and they worked in shifts,\u201d Maben explains. He said the students didn\u2019t venture outdoors with microphones, yet \u201cfilled the gap when it came to local coverage.\u201d The list of announcements included news reports, lists of what was closed, interviews with local, state and Red Cross officials and updates from the University\u2019s Emergency Management staff.<\/p>\n

Athletics<\/h4>\n

The Department of Athletics collected blankets, clothes, shoes, cleaning supplies and other provisions and took them to local shelters in Pirate vans, says Matthew Sweeney, assistant athletics director of communications.<\/p>\n

Pirates also shared their basketball courts with teams needing a place to practice because their facilities had been damaged by the storm. Among these were teams from Saint Peter\u2019s College in Jersey City, Wagner College on Staten Island, and Monmouth University in West Long Branch, N.J.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn moments of crisis or a natural disaster, it\u2019s important to lend a hand wherever we can help,\u201d explains men\u2019s basketball head coach Kevin Willard.<\/p>\n

Emergency Services<\/h4>\n

Thomas E. Giordano\u2019s 20-person emergency response team was prepared for the storm. Giordano, assistant director for emergency management, ensures that essential services \u2014 IT, facilities, housing and health services \u2014 are maintained at all times.<\/p>\n

At the time Sandy hit, more than 100 students, faculty and staff had gone through a 20-hour training program run by the federal government called CERT (Community Emergency Response Team).<\/p>\n

The training paid off.<\/p>\n

Though the University never lost power, surrounding towns did. Giordano set up an emergency operations center within Walsh Library, where he repeatedly met with South Orange officials. Giordano lived in the center for two days, sleeping on a cot. A small number of South Orange residents needed a place to sleep and others needed the use of power outlets, mostly to recharge cellphones.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest single problem you have in an emergency is communication,\u201d Giordano says. The University\u2019s Pirate Alert system sends out messages via texts, emails, cell lines and land lines.<\/p>\n

Tweets and postsSocial media played a key communications role in Sandy\u2019s aftermath. Michael Hyland, director of Web and digital communications, answered queries and stemmed rumors on Facebook and Twitter.<\/p>\n

From the emergency response center in Walsh Library, Hyland sent out messages on social media that mirrored the Pirate Alerts and responded in real time to Twitter and Facebook inquiries \u2014 which amounted to about two dozen each day.<\/p>\n

\u201cParents just wanted to talk, to know that everyone was OK and that power was still on,\u201d he says. Students with concerns about driving in were relieved to find that classes had been canceled. Others were glad to hear that registration deadlines would be extended.<\/p>\n

On-site cleanup<\/h4>\n

Christopher O\u2019Brien, director of clinical education for the School of Health and Medical Sciences\u2019 department of athletic training, led eight students and two faculty members to Staten Island to clear debris. O\u2019Brien has a history of helping out after hurricane disasters that he says started after watching the devastation of Katrina on TV.<\/p>\n

Staten Island native Dr. Thomas Bottiglieri suggested that O\u2019Brien and his team work with the relief agency Guyon Rescue. Two-and-a-half weeks after the storm, the group arrived at what looked like a war zone in Oakwood Beach, O\u2019Brien says, and filled two large municipal dump trucks with debris. The sight that most impressed him was a staircase rising from a slab of concrete where someone had put an American flag at the top of the stairs.<\/p>\n

Bob Gilbert is a writer based in Connecticut.<\/cite><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Superstorm Sandy devastated families — and whole communities — throughout the metropolitan area.
\nMany in the Seton Hall community rushed to provide assistance.<\/p>\n

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