Hitesh Tolani, a junior in math and physics has to bundle up to deal with the chill.
“I use four layers [of clothing] to deal with the drastic change in weather,” he said.
In addition to needing more clothing, he also needs more time to get from his apartment to class.
“It used to be a five minute walk to campus and now it’s about a 10 minute walk,” Tolani said. “I’ve slipped twice.”
Students commuting by car face delays whenever they head to campus. The snow and high winds can add significant troubles for drivers and make it difficult to stop or steer in the thick slush or slick ice.
Gustabo Rodriguez, a senior in communication, also works as a parking officer for Commuter Services.
“People park where they aren’t supposed to or people think we don’t check [for parking violations] while it’s snowing,” Rodriguez said.
Still, he has been lucky not to see any accidents.
“I haven’t seen any accidents, fender benders or car woes [due to the weather],” he said.
Students aren’t the only ones facing the bitter cold — buildings and facilities on campus are having their own problems. Stacy Heiner, a facility dispatcher said that cold has affected plumbing and heating at various places around campus.
“We have had a few instances where high winds have blown into doors and broken them, but most of the problems have been with heating, venting and plumbing,” Heiner said.
Stuart Bainbridge, a junior in international studies uses TRAX to commute to and from campus.
“It sucked today because TRAX was six minutes late and that slowed me down a bit,” he said.
So far, no classes have been cancelled and students are handling the low temperatures in stride.
“The only thing that would stop me from getting to class is a ton — and I mean a ton — of snow,” Bainbridge said.