A Scary, Scary Snow Day

With about one and a half feet of snowfall this past weekend, many students who remained on campus took to the outdoors for some old-school snow day fun. Though I used the extra time to sleep in and catch up on several procrastinated assignments, my Instagram was hyperactive, flooded with cutesy stories of my peers sledding, skiing and making snowmen (or women!) across campus.   

On top of allowing a decent percentage of the student body to reconnect with their inner child on Monday, the flurries have made for a multitude of scenic campus walks so far this week. “Is that Canton or The North Pole?!,” my mom questioned in response to the photo of a snow-covered Student Center I sent in my family group chat. “Honestly,” I replied, “some days I really wonder!”   

However, not everyone benefited from the blizzard. Low temperatures contributed negatively to the cold and flu epidemic on campus, abysmal road conditions served as a major source of stress for students traveling back to campus prior to the SLU Alert notice, and cars in parking lots A through T (in other words, all the lots on campus) disappeared under the invisibility cloak that was this weekend’s whiteout.   

Perhaps the craziest part of the entire fiasco was the administration’s rare class cancellation response. Upon talking to professors on campus, it has been over a decade since the last time an academic day was postponed due to an abundance of snow. Surprising, considering that nor’easters are far from uncommon up here in the North Country.   

However, the snowstorm this past weekend proved to be exceptionally dangerous. Surely, the off day was necessary for helping to keep SLUdents safe after many treacherous travel accounts back to campus on Saturday and Sunday.   

Carly Zack ’27 faced several challenges on her drive back from Buffalo with her mother on Saturday afternoon. “The snow got worse as we drove. We passed a lot of cars off the road and it added on about an hour to our drive,” she said. Though luckily, there were no major accidents involving student commuters, the fear factor and high number of close-call stories circulating campus could have been enough to justify even another snow day.   

For example, Owen Kotula ’26 reported on the poor state of the roads from Syracuse Airport to Canton on Monday morning after his rescheduled flight. “Syracuse to Watertown was whiteout snowstorm scary!,” he said. “But once I made it past, it was blue skies and paved roads.”   

Further, Beth Polcaro ’27, of Syracuse, had a similar experience during her Tuesday afternoon commute. “The wind would blow snow across the road making it impossible to see anything in front of you with several inches of snow on the road. Everyone had their hazards on, going a max of 20 mph.”  

“I don’t think I would’ve made it without listening to music, calling friends (who were also driving up through the storm), and stress-eating chocolate Cadburry eggs,” said Charlotte Blake ’27 after nearly colliding with a truck off the Route 81 exit the same day.   

Though it was a boring break for me, hearing such life-or-death stories definitely makes me grateful for my four quiet days on campus and the security of my plush bed.