By Jana Kaplan
Staff Writer

Weeks after the Sandy devastation, Hofstra students are finally catching up to the final exam schedules, which were extended an extra week into December. With such a personal impact students could have panicked, but with accommodating professors and easy ways to keep finals stress in control, the Hofstra spirit is kept afloat.

Junior Kristina Lally was deeply affected by Hurricane Sandy. Lally is from from South Jersey, right outside of Atlantic City. She was one of many in her hometown who were “affected severely.” Though her family was luckier than others, her community “lost a lot,” and she feels that now, more than ever, she needs to be home.

While Lally feels homesick and she wants school to end, she also thinks that the extension is “good rather than bad.” Although she doesn’t have final exams, the extension has allowed her to work on her intermediate thesis, and it has given her more time to shoot, edit, and finalize her work. Even though she is anxious to get home, Lally said that this extra week allows her all the preparation she needs to get her work done.

For students who live across the country, the weeklong extension has caused mayhem. Some students have had to reschedule flights that, during the holiday season, cost a lot more money than a broke college student would like to spend. However, Lexie England was one of the luckier of the West Coast-bound. Even though England “wasn’t planning on having a final” on the morning of the 20th, she had scheduled a 1:00 pm flight from JFK before the storm. The timing will be rushed, but she won’t have to reschedule any of her plans. Her biggest hurdle will be trying to study and pack simultaneously. “It might get kind of crazy when the time comes,” she said; but she’s trying her best to stay focused and maintain her excitement of flying home for a month.

Lexi Jezina also lives on the West Coast, and though she’s stressed about all of that work that “has been compacted together and rushed to complete before the semester ends,” she feels that the best way to keep stress levels low is to “try taking a break in between studying.” Her keys to studying include homemade study guides and the use of flash cards, which help her focus more and do the best she can.

The extra week of classes and the extension of finals were unpredictable. For the most part, professors have been sympathetic and students have been able to keep their plans as unchanged as possible. However, like the end of every semester, the stress is inevitable. Luckily, it can be tamed.

So whether you’re a freshman stressing over finals for the first time or a senior banging out your last fall semester essay, make sure to relax as much as possible. No test is worth getting a hemorrhage over, so study in increments, get a good night’s sleep and get the bonfire ready to burn all your notes!