Here at Amherst College, we were given a cold welcome back to campus, with our first day of classes being cancelled for a snow day!
As someone that comes from a snowy hometown, the snow isn’t anything new to me. I got the experience it for all of winter break, and was feeling a bit sick of it. After a month and a half, it starts to just feel cold and inconvenient, no longer pretty and fun. But once I was safely back on campus and felt the electric buzz spreading around campus about the possibility of a snow day, I felt the same magical excitement that I had felt in November, when the first snow fall of the season happened.
We were told on Sunday that our first day of classes was cancelled, due to the expected snow storm. Amherst College has a policy on snow days where professors are told not to hold classes virtually, so that students can enjoy the day off. Campus was filled with awed anticipation, ready to enjoy two full days of appreciating the snow without worrying about classes or homework.
The snow storm lasted from Sunday afternoon until Monday night. It basically snowed non-stop that entire time! Amherst accumulated about 2-3 feet of snow over two days. Even though it was also extremely cold outside, I found myself feeling enchanted by the snow, much due to everyone else’s excitement and classes being cancelled. Having a snow day on the first day of classes felt like something straight out of a movie.
Although I personally spent most of the snow day indoors, appreciating the snowfall from my bedroom window (like I said, it was cold!), many of my friends and others on campus partook in wintery activities, such as sledding down memorial hill, snowball fights, and even snowboarding. I was curled up with a book and hot chocolate, which I personally find to be another exhilarating snowy activity. The fact that classes were cancelled made it even more lovely, as I had no responsibilities homework to worry about completing! It was a great first few days back on campus.
While I was able to enjoy being back on campus and safe during the storm, there were some people that were unfortunately negatively affected, especially when it came to travel. Because of the traveling delays, administration made sure to make accommodations for students arriving late by extending the add/drop period for classes and asking professors not to penalize students that were absent during the first few days.
I found myself feeling very grateful to be at Amherst College during this time. Even when the rest of the buildings on campus are shut down, the dining hall is still open. Due to the generous dining hall staff, I didn’t have to worry about finding a way to get meals on my own. I was also very grateful to be in a warm dorm room with an adjustable heater. There was also staff making sure to clear off the sidewalks of snow and ice, so that we could safely walk. All these people that work behind the scenes to ensure we were safe during the storm are incredibly amazing!
The “second” day of classes was not cancelled, meaning that things returned back to normal pretty quickly around here (with the addition of a few feet of snow still covering the ground). But somehow going back to classes felt much more exciting and peaceful than normal, after having a relaxing snow day on the first day of classes.
Thank you for reading! If you were affected by the snow storm as well, I hope you are staying safe and warm. Feel free to reach me at @hsmith28@amherst.edu with any questions!