Kiley Wellendorf + Stephanie Steiner | Co-Editors-in-Chief

On Tuesday, February 2, Buena Vista University (BVU) announced an official campus closing, the first snow day since 2009. An email was sent to students at 7AM, breaking routines of hopping in the shower before an 8AM class, and sending students into a social media frenzy.

The servery remained open, and students were given fair warning of a changed schedule throughout the university. The Siebens Fieldhouse was open from noon to 10PM and the library stayed open from 9AM to 3PM. Without class, students who lived in the suites appeared in layers, while Pierce/White residents wore shorts and t-shirts to the dining hall. Students rejoiced as plans were made to fill the day with ‘snow day’ activities.

Students were asked about their first thoughts upon hearing of the cancellation. Many shared the common reaction of feeling like they were part of something bigger than a simple snow day.

“I honestly felt like a little kid again. I was hoping the night before to at least have my 8AM class cancelled, but when I woke up and read the email that the university was closing, I was quite excited. We had our snow ball fight and it was the most fun I’ve had with snow since I was in elementary school,” Emily Kenny, sophomore said.

“It’s quite an exciting idea to have a campus full of students having a snow day. I know a lot of students did movie marathons or played games. It’s like a community of lazy people, which is something we all enjoy,” Zachary Schmidt, senior said.

(Photo by Zachary Schmidt)

“I woke up at 7:00 to get ready for my 8:00 class. I was pretty bummed to see my class wasn’t cancelled until my roommate said, ‘Nichole, school is closed today.’ I didn’t believe her and checked my email once again and this time there was indeed an email confirming what my roommate told me. I was super excited. In fact, I was so excited I couldn’t go back to sleep. I have spent my day with my roommates in the snow, playing cards, watching movies, and catching up on homework,” Nichole Wiese, senior said.

“Reading the email this morning, I couldn’t help but smirk because when Maggie Marker and Mallory Mitchell were here, they would pray and hope to have one and, of course, they never got one. I just had to smile knowing how many alumni are going to be so jealous of this once and a lifetime opportunity,” Sydney Crnkovich, senior said.

“As a senior, I’ve seen a lot of bad weather at BV. I was partially surprised and partially relieved that the university decided to close down for the day due to the weather. I had a blast on the forum lawn having a snowball fight; it was a great way to bond with students and enjoy the snow day before we transition out of our senior year,” Chase Werden, senior said.

As the roads clear up and the boots outside of suite doors dry, things will melt back into routine. But, this rarity will stick in the memories of those who were involved in their first and (probably) only college snow day.

Photos by Kiley Wellendorf