Stonehill College - School Who Cried Nor’easter

By Lily Cogliano

Non-parishables bought. Candles acquired. Ponchos put on. September 23 - September 29,  Stonehill College campus went into a frenzy on preparing to survive this past Nor'easter.

For all those non New Englanders; a Nore’easter is a powerful low pressure storm that strikes the East coast, known for its strong winds that blow from the Northeast off the Atlantic. These storms famously either go from 0-100, surprising everyone with the fierceness of it, or turn out to be a little rain shower.

This past Nor’easter had very mixed reviews from the Stonehill community. 

When asking Canadian Stonehill Student; Lisa Kazanjian her thoughts, she said, “As someone who didn’t know what a Nor’easter was, I would’ve thought we were all preparing for something like World War III, and really it was not that bad. Very dramatic.”

Many others agreed with Lisa’s opinion, that the storm was very amped up to be not that bad.

Many even claimed it wasn’t a real “Nor’easter,” but just a glorified storm.

Some might complain about getting absolutely drenched walking to and from class; however there were several benefits from this new water supply. Ames Pond, a very known water landmark on campus that is famously always near drought, got remarkably revived by the mass of water the storm provided. It’s now thriving; turtles, ducks, and fish flourishing in the new clean water.

Unfortunately many Stonehill sports got the brute end of the storm. Many games and practices got delayed and canceled.

For example Field Hockey,  Men's Soccer and Women's Soccer, were particularly affected by the storm, all having games delayed or postponed. With all the preparations and fear of the detrimental storm, it could have been worse.

According to CBS News, the New England states such as Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut were to receive up to 4-6 inches of rain. Easton specifically received between 6.94 and 7.03 inches of rain, with wind gusts between 10-20 mph.

You could see the aftermath on the paths beneath trees, such as behind Villa Theresa, Corr, and Bogan Hall; tree branches and leaves were spread all around as a result of the heavy wind gusts and rain.

Another local Stonehill College student, Silvia Montillo said, “The wind gusts were really strong, much stronger than I expected; they nearly knocked me over.”

Stonehill College residence halls were efficient in sending out closure information through college-wide communications and if needed HillAlert notification system. They reminded students to charge all electronics in the chance there was a power outage and to be cautious when traveling on the roads. 

Stonehill College student Nate Ward from Rhode Island said, “The storm wasn’t anything special. I had to cancel my trip home for my Dad’s birthday, and then the weather didn’t even end up being that bad.”

Students like Nate, did unfortunately take the brunt of the storm, prematurely canceling plans or journeys home. 

Thankfully no one lost power and the main dining services remained open. The only real impact from this storm that seemed to affect students the most was the storm catching them trying to walk or drive to class, home, or work.