When the Sept. 8 blackout surged (or more accurately, didn’t surge) through Southern California it left not just Mesa College, but all of San Diego in the dark.

With the onset of the darkness only two things remained visible, lots of candles and an immense amount of camaraderie.

At 3:30 p.m. the power went out at what seemed to only be Mesa College. As groups of people stood around waiting for the power to return, conversations sparked up between confused strangers who previously had never spoken before.

Once word spread that classes were canceled for the day a sort of community spirit developed amongst students with people nudging each other on the shoulder to pass on the news that there was no reason to stay on campus. It was encouraging and inspiring to see students helping, informing and working with each other in an emergency situation.

Campus security filtered traffic through the exits, drivers whereas patient as can be expected and people let others in front of them when possible.

Off campus even traffic, while slow, seemed courteous and orderly. On the freeways cars moved slowly and some not at all.  All over San Diego freeways crowded with people trying to get to their loved ones, while where left parked on the shoulder because they’d run out of gas.

Once folks had made their ways home, front yards and back yards flooded with neighbors talking, some for the first time.  People roamed the streets talking to each other and enjoying the pitch black.

It was good to see that in a crisis San Diego comes together as a community, a community with cold drinks and hot dogs.