Some students were surprised to feel the ground shake yesterday after a 2.7 magnitude earthquake struck one mile from Rossmoor at 3:05 p.m., according to the United States Geological Survey.
“I thought something big had fell [on] the floor above me,” junior psychology major Alexandra Espinoza said. “[I didn’t think it was an earthquake until] the chair of the department came out and asked me if I felt it.”
Vichaya Chantamoke, a freshman computer science major, said he was on the second floor of the Academic Services building when the earthquake hit.
“I was in class; everybody felt it,” he said. “We saw the projector shaking around, and that’s how we knew. It was a quick jolt. It didn’t last very long.”
Senior healthcare administration major Raymond Brown said he felt it too.
“I slightly felt it,” he said. “My chair rolled forward a little bit, and I smacked my knee. I wasn’t sure if it was an earthquake or not until someone told me it was an earthquake.”
Most students said they would not be prepared if a bigger earthquake struck Southern California. They said that yesterday’s small tremor wouldn’t spur them to change that.
“We all hear about the Big One coming, but I think a lot of us would not be prepared. I know I wouldn’t be,” said Maria Victoria, a senior sociology major. “It seems like every time summer is approaching, these little earthquakes come and go. It hasn’t scared me enough to go buy supplies yet.”
Junior sociology major Hugo Aranda said he isn’t ready for a large earthquake either.
“I don’t think I am prepared,” he said. “I don’t have any extra water or canned food. I think most of California is that way . . . We feel like we have a certain amount of time or think, ‘Oh, it won’t happen in my time.’”
