After Syracuse University canceled classes for Hurricane Sandy, both students and residents are rushing to prepare.

The university sent a campus wide email informing students that all classes will be canceled beginning after 1:40 p.m. Monday and all day Tuesday.

At the Tops Markets located at 620 Nottingham Road in Syracuse, the parking lot was nearly full, shoppers were hustling around the store with their carts and lines stretched into the aisles.

Carol Dwyre, a Tops employee, said on Sunday, the store did the most business it had ever done in its entire history.

“Any kind of snow storm is crazy, but not as bad as this,” she said.

Dwyre said the store is stocking up on ice and also contacted manufacturers of several different brands to get extra shipments of water.

Joe Vanhorn, produce manager at Tops, said the water bottle isle was somewhat empty on Monday, but a delivery came in that day as scheduled.

After SU announced it would cancel its classes, Vanhorn said, Tops began to fill up with shoppers. Most were buying 24 packs of water, but he also said some were stocking up on alcohol.

“Everybody is grabbing everything,” he said. “It’s worse than when a snowstorm is forecast.”

A Tops employee opened one of the refrigerator doors and stood on the ledge, looking for high ground to snap an iPhone photo of the check-out lines winding through the front of the store.

Danielle Croft, a senior history major, and Ryan McKennan, a senior psychology major, said they wanted to come to the store to stock up on food in case they lost power. The two both live off campus and said they were somewhat worried about a power outage since the houses are older and there are a lot of trees near the power lines.

Despite the weather, Croft said she still has to go to work this evening since she works in one of the university’s dining halls, which are remaining open.

Some Syracuse residents thought rushing to Tops to stock up for the storm was an overreaction.

Cheryl Chappell, a Syracuse resident, described Hurricane Sandy as a “non-event,” and said she didn’t feel the area would really be affected by the storm.

Others agreed with Chappell, but, after seeing just how many people had gone grocery shopping to prepare for the storm, began to realize they might have taken the warnings too lightly.

“At first I thought they were making too much of it, but my husband talked me into coming for some basics, like snacks and things,” said Barbara Richards, a Syracuse resident.

After seeing the crowds at the store, Richards said she began to rethink whether everyone was overreacting as she originally had thought.

“I’ve never experienced anything like this,” she said.

Richards said she was buying about twice as many groceries as she normally would and was buying extra ice to fill up coolers in case her family lost power.

Several shoppers described the store as chaotic. Groups of shoppers decided to divide and conquer the store, shouting to one another what they’d picked up.

Questions like, “Could we just live off of cheese?” and “Are we going to get enough Vitamin C?” could be heard throughout the store.

For many SU students, the cancellation of classes comes as a welcome break.

Hillary Stallings, a junior communication and rhetorical studies major, said she and her friends were excited to hear about the cancellation and thought it came at the perfect time in the semester, when everyone could really use a break.

Stallings, who lives on South Campus, said she and her roommate decided to stock up on food just in case. Neither Stallings nor her roommate have meal plans, she said, and they were hesitant to rely on ordering food in case restaurants decided to close.

When many shoppers entered the store, they were shocked to see just how many people were in the store.

Some people weren’t willing to wait in the long lines, and turned around and left shortly after entering the store.

Cindy Menzer, a Syracuse resident, muttered “Wow,” under her breath when she saw how packed the store was and the seemingly endless check-out lines.

Menzer said she came to the store to buy wood for her wood burner, not to stock up on groceries. But after seeing the crowds, she wasn’t sure she’d be staying.

Ilyse Shapiro, a junior marketing major, said she waited in line for about 10 minutes, which, “wasn’t bad,” but was longer than she usually waits at Tops.

Shapiro said she decided to come to Tops to stock up after talking with her mother, who suggested she stock up on food.

Shapiro said she was surprised by SU’s decision to cancel classes.

“They’ll cancel for wind and rain but not for blizzards?” she said.

–Staff writer Dara McBride contributed reporting to this article

 

Published on October 29, 2012 at 2:57 pm

Contact Casey: cffabris@syr.edu | @caseyfabris