Elon University students enjoyed the first snow day of the school year Tuesday, but not without some flip-flopping on the behalf of the administration. Winter Storm Octavia blanketed the area with a troublesome mixture of snow, ice and sleet, which prompted administrators and students alike to voice safety concerns about getting to and from campus.
But the complaints weren’t just about the weather. Students received three emails from Smith Jackson, vice president for student life between Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning, each detailing a different schedule for Tuesday’s classes.
After initially calling for a 10 a.m. start, then a noon start, the long-awaited cancellation email from Jackson hit inboxes across campus late Tuesday morning.
Students waited through Monday evening and Tuesday morning to hear if class would be further delayed or canceled.
They weren’t happy about it.
“I feel like they should have canceled as soon as possible, just for everyone’s benefit in planning ahead,” said senior Catherine Falvey. “Professors should be the priority. I feel like the call was made too late.”
The safety of the roads was at the forefront of the minds of students who depend on cars to get to campus on a regular basis. Falvey isn’t scared of the slippery roads, partly because of her Massachusetts roots and also thanks to her crossover SUV that can handle the ice — but other students aren’t as confident.
Preparation for the snow began for dozens of Physical Plant employees and other emergency personnel Monday.
Associate Vice President for Facilities Management and Director of Physical Plant Robert Buchholz said that Tom Flood, associate director of Physical Plant, brought in crews Monday in anticipation for the snow’s arrival Monday night.
Using more than 35 pieces of equipment including brushes, shovels and vehicles with power brooms, a crew of 25 Physical Plant staff members worked from 5 p.m. Monday to 5 a.m. Tuesday to maintain safe and clear roads.
Physical Plant continued to work throughout Tuesday to bring some sense of order to roads laden with more precipitation than traffic.
Buchholz said the main focus of the work was the core areas of campus — residence halls, dining halls and the library.
“We first wanted to make sure students could get out of their dorms and to dining halls,” Buchholz said. “We then worked out towards Colonnades, Danieley and the Ellington Health Center.”
Though plows worked throughout the night in the Town of Elon to clear major roads, the patches of blacktop that shone through the ice in the morning were few and far between.
“I don’t live too far off campus, but my driveway is a steep hill, and I don’t see how it would have been safe to walk or drive to class,” said junior Tyler Meacham. “If class hadn’t been canceled, I would have had to go based on emails from my professors.”
Elon Vice President for University Communications Dan Anderson said student and faculty safety is the most important consideration when deciding whether the university should stay open.
“If they consider [the roads] dangerous, they won’t be penalized,” Anderson said. “Each person needs to make their own decision if the roads aren’t safe.”
For students more accustomed to the snow, the cancelation was questionable to begin with, though they acknowledged North Carolina operates by different rules than, say, New York.
“I’m from New York, so I’m biased,” said freshman Emma Schorr. “This would really have been nothing back home. I’m all for not having class, but we probably could have had class without a delay at all.”
Even though professors and students had the day off, Elon Dining still had a busy day.
Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, Lakeside Dining Hall and Acorn opened at 9 a.m. and remained open until 8 p.m. Colonnades opened at 11 a.m. for brunch and closed at 8 p.m.
In anticipation of the snow, Elon Dining Resident District Manager Pulkit Vigg said Elon Dining and Elon administration discussed possible scenarios and plans of action Monday. Their goal was for every neighborhood to have one option for students to eat.
“I’m not happy with [the limited options], but I understand why they don’t have all the options open,” said sophomore Matthew Sheehan.
“Historically, Lakeside is always open first, so that’s what we did this time, as well,” Vigg said. “Colonnades and Acorn were then opened.”
Vigg said only one-quarter of Elon Dining employees worked on campus Tuesday, mainly because road conditions prevented many staff from making it to work.
With the safety of Elon Dining employees being a main concern of Aramark, managers were put up in nearby hotels so they could be close to campus overnight.
“Our two main goals are making sure students have food to eat and employees are safe,” Vigg said.
With the necessities of safety and food taken care of, students were free to take advantage of the free day. The snow day allowed students to hang out with friends and enjoy the weather.
Freshman Jordon McRae, originally from Philadelphia, didn’t think there’d be enough snow for Elon to cancel classes.
But he’s not complaining.
“I was ecstatic,”McRae said.“I really wanted a day without classes, a day to rest. And to have a snowball fight.”
McRae has seen much more snow than this before, so he wasn’t fazed Monday night when most of it fell. Instead, he stayed inside and worked on statistics homework.
“Some girls on my hall, when the first little flurries came — you couldn’t even call them snowflakes — they were running around,” McRae said.
And as for the snowball fight, McRae said he hopes it’ll be the biggest one he’s ever been a part of.
Sledding and snow ball fights were on the agenda for other students, as well. Students like freshman Ellie Whittington saw the snow day as a chance to make memories she otherwise wouldn’t have.
“Snow days bring a whole new experience to connecting with your friends outside of the classroom,” Whittington said.