Students who stayed near Ithaca and Tompkins County over February Break were graced with abnormally sunny skies and 50 degree weather.
Enjoying the unseasonably comfortable temperatures, many used the four day weekend as a chance to get off campus and into the outdoors.
Laura Azcarate ’23, an international student from Colombia, took full advantage of her first white winter by spending a day at Greek Peak, a nearby Ski resort.
“I actually had a lot of fun because since I’m from Colombia, I had never experienced seasons before,” Azcarate said. “I took advantage of that and I went skiing for the first time in my life — I had never done that before and it was really fun.”
Also sticking relatively close to campus, Ian Wallace ’20 ventured out of Ithaca for a one night excursion.
“Me and a few friends rented a car and went out to a cabin outside of Syracuse,” Wallace said. “We took advantage of the time to spend outdoors, go on a hike, enjoy the snowy woods, and just relax — not worrying about schoolwork and obligations, just unwinding and having a good time together.”
The looming cloud of post-break prelims still cast a shadow over the break, and many students also made use of the extra time to get a head start on studying.
“I decided a four day break would be good to catch up with my studies because I have a prelim coming on Friday,” Sumay Mishra ’23 said.
Many campus facilities, such as service centers, dining halls and fitness centers, had limited hours over the break. On North Campus, Appel Fitness Center was closed all four days, while Helen Newman’s facilities remained open.
All service centers were closed for the duration of Saturday and Sunday, while Robert Purcell Community Center Dining Hall’s closing forced students to go to Appel Commons to use meal swipes.
“My dorm is right beside RPCC, which is really convenient, so it was kind of a bummer that it was closed,” Azcarate said. “But I get that they cannot have everything open for the few people that stay.”