Waking up on Wednesday morning students were greeted with white window panes and multiple alerts from campus informing them about the cancellation of classes.
At least a foot of snow fell on the ground, meaning neither teachers or commuter students could drive to campus, and the ground became slippery for students to walk on.
"There's nothing to say. Everybody loves snow days," sophomore Brennan Blair said.
The area of South Orange was expected to receive two to six inches Tuesday night and from six to 10 inches throughout the day Wednesday. Instead, the snow began to fall around 3 a.m. on Wednesday and was not expected to stop until late at night. A rough projected estimate was about 12 to 13 inches by the end of Wednesday night according to the Weather Channel, as of press time.
The students are not the only ones busy in the snow. The Gourmet Dining Service employees who are on schedule for Wednesday trudged their way to the cafeteria to help make sure the students eat. The hours for the cafeteria changed and there were no breaks between food serving times. The doors opened at 9 a.m. and remained open until 10 p.m.
The employees said they did not mind working through the day and said it is to ensure the students have access to food in case they have none in their rooms. When asked, many said the students are the reason they have their jobs and are always willing to help them out.
As for the hungry students, they can run in and grab a meal after having a snowball fight, a traditional snow football game, or during a break from snow day homework sessions.
"I have a lot of work I have to get done," sophomore Derek Martinez said. "I got really lucky with the snow day and now I have the extra time to get it all done."
The biting wind and having the snow up to the ankles can often be too much for some students who prefer to remain inside and finish up work and lounge around.
"It's good for me cause I have a paper due at midnight and I am not done," junior Rory Manning said. "So it gives me more time to work on it, but after I'm done I'll be watching movies with friends."
The students spent time together weathering over the chilly breeze with cups of hot chocolate, unfinished homework, and soaked clothes ready to be dried.
Justin Beebe can be reached at justin.beebe@student.shu.edu.
