For many people, hurricane preparation means stocking up on water, non-perishable foods and gas. But for some students and veteran storm survivors, alcohol is just as important as any of those items.
Brandon Landry, ISDS freshman, said he and his friend Zachary Sonnier, mechanical engineering freshman, plan to ride out the storm at their homes in Prairieville.
“We live like right next to each other, so we plan on having a pretty good-size hurricane party,” Landry said. “We’re not really holding back, we really have nothing better to do.”
Landry said he’s excited to finally take part in his first big hurricane party.
“For any of the recent major hurricanes, like Katrina or Gustav, we weren’t really old enough to drink or party,” Landry said. “But now that we’re old enough, we’re ready to have fun.”
Sonnier said he and Landry each have about two cases of beer and plan to invite friends over to their houses. But Sonnier said it’s important to him to stay safe and stock up on essential goods.
“Beer’s at the top of the list, of course, but definitely get food you don’t have to heat up,” Sonnier said. “You’ve got to have water, but no milk or nothing perishable. And of course beer.”
But some students plan to stay relatively tame during Isaac. Erick Perdomo, computer engineering sophomore, and William Urias, petroleum engineering sophomore, have no parties planned, and said they plan to stock up on essentials and stay inside.
“We’ve got water and Gatorade, we didn’t even think about beer,” Urias said. “We went grocery shopping yesterday and got everything we needed. Plus we have a grill, which is about the best thing to have during a hurricane.”
Both said they don’t feel the need to stock up on alcohol like other students, as they focused on practical supplies.
“We may have a couple friends over to the house just to chill, but we don’t plan on having a party or anything,” Perdmomo said.
For entertainment, they said they’ll rely on a more old-fashioned way to pass the time.
“We’ve got an awesome pool table and ping pong table, so we’re pretty excited about having an excuse to play them for a couple days,” Perdomo said.
 
____ Contact Joey Groner at [email protected]