After classes were canceled due to a winter storm on Tuesday, students had the day free to relax and unwind. Some students decided to spend the campus closure outdoors, while others enjoyed their day off from the comfort of their home.
The University announced on Monday evening that the Ithaca and AgriTech campuses would be closed from 3 a.m. on Tuesday to 3 a.m. on Wednesday due to an approaching snowstorm that was set to hit the Ithaca region on Tuesday and Wednesday.
While it was predicted that nine to 18 inches of snow would hit Ithaca, the region only saw two to five inches of snowfall. However, that didn’t deter students from participating in snowy activities.
Many students, including Rebekah Goldstein ’25, who hasn’t been sledding since she was six-years-old, decided to go sledding on the slope with friends.
“Our marketing class gave us one [extra] point if we took a photo of us doing something fun outside for the next prelim,” Goldstein said. “I am doing classwork.”
For other students, like Ashley Bao ’24, this was their first time sledding. According to Bao, she found out about a make-your-own sled event that was advertised on Reddit. Students were provided tape and instructions on how to turn signs that read ‘Hate Has No Home Here’ into sleds. Bao explained that she was excited for this opportunity as time constraints had previously prevented her from participating in the tradition of sledding on the slope.
“There were a few other times I could have done it, [but] I want[ed] my friends to come and they’re just too busy,” Bao said. “But today everyone has a day off, so we can finally do it [together].”
Brenda Tecum ’26 spent the day making snow angels while also participating in creating her own sled.
“We found this guy [and] he said that he was gonna give away free makeshift sleds, and I wasn’t sure if he was real,” Tecum said. “Then we showed up and he had so many [sleds he was] handing out.”
As for Zakir Ahmad ’24, he was enjoying his own snow day tradition with fellow members of the Big Red Marching Band. Ahmad described a game they play every snow day called Crumpets. The game consists of using plastic baseball bats to move a soccer ball around in the snow. According to Ahmad, this tradition began on a snow day in February 2020.
“That day [in February 2020], the classes were canceled at like 9 a.m., so we were already on campus, [and because] we were on campus, why not play crumpets?” Ahman said. “Since then we’ve done snow crumpets, we’ve done red [and] white crumpets [and] all sorts of different [crumpet variations]. [One time] we had Touchdown playing with us.”
Some students decided not to venture outside. Instead, they stayed in their dorms and spent the day doing other activities. Zack Winnicki ’26 stayed home due to a knee injury and an upcoming preliminary exam on Wednesday.
“[I wanted to] keep studying for bio, make myself some hot chocolate and enjoy the great time we have off,” Winnicki said.
Even though Ithaca experienced some snowfall, TCAT made an announcement in the morning that they were continuing their services throughout the day.
On Tuesday evening, the University announced the Ithaca and AgriTech campuses would reopen on Wednesday at 3 a.m.