Donahue is turned into a ski slope during winter storm

Summit photo

Senior Drew Fitzgerald dawns his skis for a night on the hill.

By Anastasia Pumphrey

Students participated last night in the age-old Stonehill tradition of sledding down Donahue hill amid the winter storm that hit campus, and some even decided to ski.

The storm, named Winter Storm Orlena, brought almost a foot of snow to campus before turning to rain in the morning, according to The Weather Channel.

The College sent out a hill alert at 10 a.m. yesterday saying that all classes would be held online starting at 1 p.m., but no change has been given to today’s classes as of noon today.

Although due to COVID-19 students have had more limited opportunities for in-person gatherings, a few groups decided to go sledding last night and said they were able to enjoy their time all while wearing masks and practicing social distancing.

“My mom went here and would always talk about sledding down Donahue with cafeteria trays, so I knew I had to do it when I heard it would snow,” Senior music and education double major Kaitlin Peters said. “With all the stress of senior year in a pandemic, it was a fun night to let go and just be a kid again.”

Peters said she went with her suite mates from New Hall, and that the group put together the plan the day before the storm. Her suite mate Kelly LaRegina said that she was tasked with purchasing the sleds before the storm along with Brenna Kueter, both seniors.

“Brenna and I spent almost an hour and a half trying to find sleds and we finally found some at Lowe’s. The employees were laughing at us because we were so excited,” LaRegina said. “It was exciting to cross something off of our Stonehill bucket list as seniors and to make memories we’ll always remember.”

Wilson Capone, and his girlfriend Simone Payette, both seniors, also joined the New Hall suite on the hill. “I wasn't really considering sledding since it was a little wet, but I said sure…because why not, it's senior year,” Capone said.

“The wind was stinging just a little and the snow was kind of slushy, but it was absolutely worth it. By the end my mask and my jeans were soaking wet, but it was definitely a bucket list item for my senior year and I'm glad I got out there,” Capone said.

In addition to the students sledding, some even brought their skis to the hill, turning Donahue into a bunny hill for the night. Drew Fitzgerald, a senior physics and economics double major, said that he had a lot of fun doing just this.

“My friend and I were originally going to just use some sleds, but we realized we had some skis in my room for an upcoming trip,” Fitzgerald said. “We saw the skis and thought ‘We’re seniors. Might as well say we did this.’ It worked out better than we thought.”

For transparency, this author also joined those going sledding and skiing, and had a blast.