First snow day of the year!

By Annie Renz

Students shoveled off cars and sledded down the hill outside Donahue Hall after the first major snowstorm hit the area, dumping more than a foot of snow in the area and forcing class cancelations.

“I was surprised; I really didn’t think it was going to snow that much. I thought it was going to snow a foot and we’d be fine,” said senior Olivia Sharkansky.

At 10:11 a.m. Sunday morning, Stonehill students received a Hill Alert Emergency Notification explaining that all in-person operations will be canceled Monday due to inclement weather.

The National Weather Service reports that by 10 a.m. Monday morning, Norton, Mass. received 13.5 inches of snow. They said the Boston area by Logan Airport received 16.7 inches.

The National Weather Service reported that Worcester County and the Boston area saw the most amount of snow, averaging 18-24 inches in the area.

Many excited students brought out sleds and trash bags to sled down Donahue Hill Sunday night as heavy snow fell.

“We went sledding last night, and we hope to go again today. It was fun to see everyone out there. It was my first time sledding at Stonehill – we just haven’t had this much snow,” said junior Lily Roslonek.

Photo Credit: Annie Renz

Senior Gabby Parisi went sledding Sunday and said the snow made for fast tubbing down the hill but said it’s not the best packing snow.

“We made a bunch of snow angels, but when we tried a snowball fight it didn’t work because it’s not packing snow,” she said.

Parisi, who is a member of the Stonehill women’s lacrosse team, discovered the snow is not stopping Spring athletes preparing for their upcoming seasons.

The lacrosse team’s coaches informed players a practice slot in the Sports Complex fieldhouse would be held from 12-1 p.m. Sports Recreation sent an email to the student body Monday morning saying Spoco would open at 12 p.m.

“It’ll be good to get some exercise in. It’s lacrosse season, so we gotta do what we gotta do,” said Parisi.

Spoco has been closed since 12 p.m. on Sunday. MacPhaidin Library closed Sunday and all day Monday as well.

Stonehill’s police department warned students of the multiple lot closures on campus. Campus police asked students to have their cars moved to Lot 17 or the recreation fields by 11 p.m. Sunday night for a proper snow removal of all lots.

Photo Credits: Maddi Achtyl

Junior Frankie Melendez was told to park at the Rec Fields on Sunday night. When he went to his car late Monday morning, he had to trudge through mounds of snow.

“They haven’t plowed out anything,” said Melendez. “I gotta get to work.”

Classes, events, and activities will be closed on Monday. Essential employees, including Facilities, Stonehill Police, and dining operations, will continue their work.

Roche Dining Commons opened during normal hours on Monday, although students noticed there were less options.

Junior Kayla Cassidy went to breakfast at the Commons on Monday morning.

“It was limited. They didn’t have any fruit. There were eggs, home fries and pancakes. They had four options. It wasn’t a great selection,” she said.

Cassidy, who lives in the Junior Courts, said the Duffy Lot that separates the Commons from the Courts was not plowed when she went to breakfast at 9:30 a.m. By the time she finished breakfast, plows had started to clear Duffy Lot.

Senior Katie Carey also walked to Commons from Junior Courts on Monday morning.

“I think they did a good job staying on top of the plowing and shoveling. With how much snow we got, and no matter how much they did, there was still going to be a struggle getting from point A to point B.”

Classes were expected to resume Tuesday.