This past weekend, the University saw its first blizzard of the year, and it made its mark. Storm Jonas started on Friday night and created many complications for students and staff on campus. Dining halls and a la carte locations closed early so there was no late night eating for students. Staff in the Spit had to stay at a local hotel during the storm. Nova Nites kicked off its first event with ice skating that had to be moved indoors to the Villanova room because of the blizzard. Shuttle service stopped around 9 p.m., so students had to travel by foot to get anywhere on campus. It did not take long for the snow to stick, and by the end of the night, it had coated the entire campus, with more coming down throughout the next day.

By the next morning, campus was engulfed in over a foot of snow, and it continued to come down. However, it did not stop students from enjoying Mother Nature’s gift. Students around campus could be seen sledding down hills by Delurey, having snowball fights and a few decided to have a light saber fight in the snow. Andrew Lee and Anthony Silvestri were seen on south campus imitating the moves from the latest “Star Wars” movie, complete with the soundtrack. Dozens of students gathered on the grassy knoll to witness the epic battle. When asked why they decided to have a light saber fight, both students responded with, “it’s a good workout.” The students also mentioned where they learned their moves. Silvestri said, “I’m self-taught. I learned with three of my other friends. We do semi-choreographed combat. We learned from the movies and YouTube training videos.” Silvestri said that he would like to start a club where students can duel with light sabers. 

Going off campus may not have practical for many students, but some tried to make the best of the situation at hand. What is the best thing about being snowed in? According to freshman Nora Manosca, “I can say that it gives you the opportunity to get to know the people you live with well.” When you are trapped with someone inside for a long time, you tend to get to know them on a deeper level since you cannot go out to socialize. On the other hand, sophomore Nkiambi Sokolo said that the downside of a snow day was that, “the dining halls weren’t serving quality food like they usually do on the weekends.” The dining halls were limited inthe foods they served due to the storm, so students could not have their typical weekend brunches. Some students had to eat in the dining halls because they had nothing else to eat in their rooms . They had not prepared themselves for what snow storm Jonas had to bring.

By the early morning of Jan. 24, the blizzard had ceased and left more than 20 inches of snow. According to Philly.com, the Philadelphia International Airport had recorded 22.4 inches of snow. Sophomore Marquis Smith from Alabama explained his experience with seeing so much snow, “It was actually amazing. We’ve never had snow before but this was the most I’ve seen in my life. It was like campus was covered by a large white blanket.” For many students, this was their first blizzard and you could tell by the many facebook posts saying, “Hey, does anyone own a shovel?” It was not long before plow machines began moving snow and salt could be seen coating the ground. Through the day, you could hear the beeping of trucks moving snow and the scraping of snow being removed from cars. Some students could be seen digging their cars out. Students were relieved that the snow stopped so they could function outside of their dorms. Students were excited to be able to go out and eat non-dining hall food and go to the city. As long as students could navigate the streets, they were willing to get some fresh air after being cooped up in their dorms for the entire weekend.

Later that day, the topic of conversation was “Will there be school on Monday?” Rumors were going around and screenshots of group messages that showed students hoping for a snow day. Other area colleges such as Rosemont had already declared a school closing. Philadelphia public schools had also closed. Students were just wondering “Why aren’t we closed?” It was not until Monday morning that students got a confirmed email and text that said, “Villanova Univ. & Law School are closed.” Students were thrilled, and you could see the excitement on Snapchat of students snapping pics of themselves getting to sleep in. For others, this was a day they could catch up on homework they had not done on the weekend. 

On Jan. 26, classes resumed as usual.  It would have been great to have another day off, but regardless students still have to get their education. You could easily walk around campus without having to step in much snow. The only thing you had to avoid were puddles from the snowmelt. Other than that, it was your typical day at the University. The topic of conversation on campus this day was “what did you do this weekend?” to share stories of how snow storm Jonas’ visit had affected them.

This won’t be the last of the winter’s wrath for Villanova. The Farmer’s Almanac has red-flagged the last two weeks of February and third week of March for heavy snowfall.