Snow affects flights, classes

While some students were less than eager to return to campus, others had no choice in the matter.

A blizzard Tuesday night — which blanketed the greater Philadelphia area in about seven inches of snow — tampered with many students’ travel plans back to campus.

Flight cancellations and delays were a source of stress for many who could not return to campus for their first classes Wednesday.

“I was giving up on sleeping,” College sophomore June Gu said, noting that she had to reschedule her flight from her hometown of Atlanta three separate times.

Gu originally planned to fly in Monday, well before the Philadelphia snowstorm, but a blizzard in Georgia caused that flight to be canceled.

She arrived on campus late Wednesday night, missing several classes.

“It’s frustrating, but I e-mailed my teachers and I think it’s okay,” she said.

College freshman Casey Anderson missed not only her first day of classes, but also the first round of formal sorority recruitment.

According to Panhellenic Council Vice President of Recruitment and Nursing senior Meredith Bress, girls who miss the first round due to travel conflicts are still eligible. She said three potential new members contacted her with conflicts, and that they will attend the parties they missed Thursday night instead.

Engineering sophomore Amanda Culp was one of several students to gain a block of free time Wednesday when her professor canceled her Materials and Science Engineering class.

Culp said the professor e-mailed her class early Wednesday morning.

Director of Education in the Provost’s Office Rob Nelson cited class listserv e-mails such as Culp’s as “one of the communications structures in place for professors” to facilitate class-by-class decisions such as cancellations.

He added that the school’s academic advising system allows students to seek advice about make-up work from their individually assigned adviser.

A blizzard last February led the University to cancel class for two consecutive days — marking the first snow day since 2003 and first double snow day since 1994.

Philadelphia is close to breaking its own record for accumulating the largest amount of snow in two consecutive winters, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

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