Cornellians marveled at the white sheet of snow that blanketed nearly all 2,000 acres of the Ithaca campus on Tuesday and forced the University to cancel classes and halt non-essential operations at noon.
“Jumping off this gap is something I’ve actually always wanted to do," said Mike Buldo Licciardi '17, who sailed over a Uris Hall window on his snowboard in a lime green jacket.
Other students formed makeshift sleds out of flattened cardboard boxes, baking trays and storage bin lids, many of which doubled as shields during impromptu snowball fights.
The storm — dubbed Winter Storm Stella — slammed Ithaca with about 10 inches of snow, leading to Tompkins County closing roads and many city agencies shutting their doors. Some Cornell professors have already cancelled Wednesday afternoon classes.
The last full snow day at Cornell was exactly 24 years ago, on Sunday, March 14, 1993, when 30 inches of snow over the weekend forced the University to halt operations for an entire day. The next day, the University reopened at 3 p.m.
Tuesday's closing was similar to the Valentine's Day blizzard of 2007, when Cornell canceled afternoon classes after remaining open in the morning.
[gallery ids="1214738,1214793,1214745,1214737,1214741,1214756,1214739,1214742,1214743,1214757,1214744"]
