Do You Want to Build a Snowman?

The first major snow storm of the year smacked the nation on Saturday, February 14,
and only truly began to let up on Thursday, February 19, granting the Concord University
community an entire week free of classes.
 The entire region was completely pelted, with snowfall of well over a foot in some
areas. Due to the slick roads and white out conditions, traveling conditions were extremely
dangerous, prompting news outlets and weather professionals to advise against braving the
storm unless absolutely necessary. The storm not only stalled road traffic, but on February 17, a
train carrying crude oil derailed near the Fayette County village of Mt. Carbon, dumping oil into
the local creek and causing fires that burned for hours. Despite these horrific accidents and traffic issues, life still marches on, and many
students have taken advantage of their time off. Let it never be said that Concord University
students do not know how to balance work with play.
 Students have been making the best of the crummy weather, either by channeling their
inner child by sledding down the hill that leads into the valley or enjoying some much needed
down time.
 “I’ve been replenishing my soul by reading for pleasure. A person can't live just reading
the assigned work all semester long.” said student and local resident Amanda Naylor. However,
as the week wore on, many students felt the sting of idleness set in.
 “I really did enjoy the time off at first, but then I started to get pretty bored,” said senior
Elisabeth Harrah, “So I've been watching Netflix, cleaning, and trying to do a little bit of
homework.” Boredom and cabin fever can make a person do crazy things, homework and
extra studying being at the top of the list. Many students have also been assigned homework
by their professors over the course of the time off, though it does not seem like the extra
workload has perturbed many.
 “I have been assigned some homework over email during the week,” Naylor said, “I don’t
think it’s been too much. It’s not much of a burden at all. As a matter of fact, most of the work
has been done already.”
 Unfortunately, with all of the snow that has fallen, it has proven difficult for some
students to get schoolwork done, especially if the work requires the use of school facilities or
traveling to a field placement. “I haven't had anything assigned over email,” said senior Julie
Lauderman, “but losing an entire week of classes has really interfered with my independent
research. That’s an entire week of work that I am going to have to make up because of this
snowstorm.”
 In addition, it seems that the snow has interfered with many students’ pattern of
behavior. “Well you see, I’m from Indiana,” said junior Christian Pridemore, “So when I am here
at Concord University, it is strictly for classes and the like. I [have to] say that it has been a
rather surreal experience being on campus this entire week with no classes to attend.” He
added, “It has also kind of thrown me off as far as classes go.”  It would appear that the majority of people are eager to get back to attending classes
and to return to work. “I’m gonna go completely crazy if I have to stay in my dorm room for one
more day due to cancelled classes!” exclaimed junior Joe Harrah, “This was fun for the first
couple of days, but now I really want to get back to work. It’s going to be really hard to get
caught back up.”
 With more snow in the forecast and Spring still a long month away, no one knows if or
when the Campus Beautiful will finally thaw. 

Photos courtesy of Lucas Bolyard, Katie Collins, and Julie Lauderman.