CMU students spent days off from school relaxing, studying
From left to right, Livonia freshman Lauren Canary, Livonia sophomore Natalie Cavaretta, and Livonia junior Heather Canary play Sorry! on their day off from classes Jan. 30 in the Fabiano Lobby.
While Central Michigan University students with 8 a.m. classes trudged their way through the powerful snowstorm that hit Monday morning, Vice President of Finance and Administrative Services Barrie Wilkes would later motion for class cancelation for the rest of the day Jan. 28.
On Tuesday evening, students would be graced with a message regarding class cancelation for Wednesday, with a similar message the following afternoon that canceled Thursday's classes. This resulted in three snow days within a one-week span.
Colleges across the state such as Michigan State University and even Michigan Technological University called for snow days in response to a large polar vortex that has made its way south covering a large portion of the upper Midwest. Temperatures in some states have reached sixty degrees below zero when factoring wind chill.
Muskegon freshman Tommy Gautraud agrees the snow days were a wise decision on behalf of the administration after experiencing the cold first-hand when he went outside to meet up with some friends.
“It was a different kind of cold, it felt like it was burning,” Gautraud said. “People could get frostbite in under ten minutes and there are walks to classes that take longer than that.”
As the winter wind blew across CMU’s snow-covered campus, students found ways to occupy their unexpected free time.
Administrators urged students to remain indoors at all cost in their Wednesday announcement.
“This is not a time to walk to friends’ houses, businesses, restaurants, etc. Stay inside," the announcement read.
However, this did not stop freshman Conner Campbell from walking to Dragon Express to grab a meal.
“I don’t think that it was that bad, especially today," Campbell said Wednesday. “If I was walking to Pearce from here, I wouldn’t have a problem at all.”
Campbell, a Carrey Hall resident, said while he could withstand the cold in short doses, he much preferred to hang around within the Towers Residential Halls and relax in his dorm room.
On the other hand, not all students had the luxury of relaxing on their days off. Hillsdale senior and Carrey Hall Residence Assistant Marshal Hammel said all his classes had exams this week and most were rescheduled to whenever classes resume.
“These snow storms have given me a lot more time to prepare myself,” Hammel said. “I’ve pretty much been spending all my time studying or taking mental breaks.”
Many students can relate to Hammel to some degree. Some students expressed the need to catch up on classwork, study for upcoming exams or finally get started on research paper.
As the polar vortex rolled through Mount Pleasant, both classes and campus operations were shut down for the three snow days. University offices and various RSO meetings were closed and canceled, including the University Theatre’s production of “The Whipping Man.”
For Hartland freshman Sarah Brannigan, this was a major inconvenience.
“I was assigned to write a paper on the performance, having two out of the five performances canceled really sucks,” Brannigan said. “Sometimes we would have snow days in high school, but out-of-school activities would still go on.”
While Brannigan has enjoyed the opportunity to relax, recuperate and recharge she thinks the assignments that involve outside-the-classroom research will be hindered by the freezing temperatures.
Classes resumed Friday with temperatures being between six and 15 degrees, according to weather.com. The polar vortex looks to be releasing its grip on central Michigan with temperatures reaching the upper forties later in the weekend.
