by The Cowl Editor on November 30, 2017
Arts & Entertainment
by Catherine Goldberg ’18
A&E Staff
Are you ready for the first snowfall of the season? Are you dreaming of snow days as Christmas approaches? Or are you fearing slipping down the steep Guzman Hill stairs?
December is finally here, so it is inevitable that Providence College students think about what winter has in store. Some dread the thought of the cold and dreary weather and trekking through the heavy mounds of slush. Others are ready to embrace the beauty of the first snowfall. Over the years, snow days have served as some of PC students’ greatest memories. Let’s take a Friar Flashback…
The Blizzard of 1978 marks a historic moment for Providence alumni. In the beginning of February, students woke up to a beautiful 40-inch blanket of snow. The blizzard caused chaos across campus, as students were left with no classwork and had time to express their youthful spirits while entertaining themselves over the course of a five-day break.
Students trudged from Fennell to Raymond Dining Hall and back for meals, used lunch trays as sleds, and went to The Rat, the on-campus bar at the time. In the winter of 1982, energetic students decided to collect the perfect packing snow to construct an eight-layer snowman right outside St. Joseph Hall.
Today at PC, students still love when classes are called off and an official snow day commences. Marie Sweeney ’20 always has “a feeling of happiness waking up knowing there’s a snow day.” She loves “looking outside the window and embracing the magnificent snow.”
With the mounds of work which often pile high for students at this time of year, many enjoy relaxing in the comfort of their dorms or apartments. Sarah Kerrigan ’20 and Maddie Reilly ’20 love “drinking hot chocolate, watching Christmas movies, snuggling, and baking cookies” on their wintry day off.
Others, such as Elizabeth Connor ’20, still love making the bitterly cold trip to Ray and “staying all day, eating chicken nuggets, and chatting with friends.” Last semester, on Feb. 9, Providence experienced blizzard conditions which lasted nine hours. Students were notified the preceding night that classes would be cancelled, and happily prepared for the following day.
Many of the freshman boys living in St. Joseph Hall decided to go outside in the freezing weather wearing nothing but jerseys, shorts, and snow boots. While most of them practically froze in the intensity of the snowfall, Brandon Sahler ’20 said it is “a day he will always remember when looking back at his time at Providence.”
Snow days spark ambition in youthful minds and bring us together to remind PC students nostalgic for the snow days of their childhood that the magic is still there. Are you excited for the first snow day of the year?