With temperatures on the rise over the next week, it might be easy for Stevenson students and faculty to forget the headaches brought on by the late January snow and ice storm — and the troubles they brought.
In late January, Stevenson was disrupted by a storm that featured nearly a foot of snow around the metro area, topped with another inch of ice. The resulting conditions and an extended two-week cold snap delayed the start of classes and campus life for Stevenson residents, who were initially supposed to move in Jan. 25.
One resident, third-year Ryleigh Garner, stayed in her campus apartment from Dec. 12 to Dec. 22 and moved back in Jan. 5. The snow and ice caused problems for Garner.
“The biggest issue was having to shovel my car out of the snow – and not being able to park my car in certain spots because there was just too much snow in the way,” Garner said. “It was kind of crazy to think about how I was snowed in here, and I couldn’t really go anywhere.”
Another student, Nsereko N-si H. Kiwalabye, is a member of the Mustang track and field team. He returned on Jan. 18 because of his coach’s recommendation letter.
“Being on campus with the snow was actually pretty fun,” Kiwalabye said. “I got much closer with my teammates over break with a lot of game nights and movie nights. I actually played soccer on the field when it was snowing to just move around. And for food I was doing a lot of doordashing.”
However, when it came to the delay of classes, Kiwalabye noticed something unique about Stevenson compared to other universities. Stevenson started classes on Thursday, Jan. 28, three days later. Other schools, such as the University of Maryland, UMBC and Loyola didn’t open until the next week.
“Why us? It just shows that regardless of the conditions, Stevenson is always going to find a way to make sure that we go to our classes,” Kiwalabye said.
CBS Baltimore reported snow piling up to near 6-10 inches across Maryland and Baltimore City. Conditions drastically changed to sleet and freezing rain, causing icy roads and bleak temperatures.
VP of Marketing and Digital Communication John A. Buettner described the emergency procedures that take place during these types of situations.
“The beginning was when there was the most uncertainty because it was meteorological uncertainty,” Buettner said. “It was Mother Nature. You don’t know which way she’s going to go. This was an ongoing process for several days, which is why we took a strategy to first inform our community, including the students.”
In addition to emails, university communications sent texts and told people how to find preliminary plans and information on the website and on social media.
“We actually had a series of three communications, not just to students, but we sent them to faculty, staff and to parents as well,” Buettner said. “We sent out an initial communication to say we’re monitoring this, plans for possible closures, postponements of move-in that we will announce later in the coming day or two, once we have clear information.”
Garner appreciated this method.
“I do think the communication was clear,” Garner said. “Maybe it’s different for me because I was already on campus, but I feel like they really did the best that they could because when you have weather like this, it can really be unpredictable, so no one really knows what to do about it.”
A committee of five administrators made decisions about delays, cancellations and communication.
Stevenson decided to open school again on Jan. 29. However, based on the confirmed information shared from Fox 45 News, school districts across Maryland closed in-person classes for the week until they were sure that roadways and sidewalks were safe and cleared.
“I understand why they [Stevenson] still wanted school because they’re a private institution and everything – but I wish what they had done differently was do what the other universities did and just close school,” Kiwalabye said.
Additionally, Buettner described their emergency snow delay and closing procedures which includes information for students and staff who were facing road conditions from the weather.
“Faculty have a class cancellation policy that they have to follow in accordance with academic affairs if they’re in a position where they can’t safely exit or drive from their location,” Buettner said. “We realize that we might have people an hour away that had more snow impact, or the local response in their state or county hadn’t really addressed all the safety conditions like we’re doing here.”
However, for the students who have been adjusting to no classes during this break, it was a very unusual transition.
“It was a tough transition because I had a lot of dopamine – and you go from having an extra week to yourself, having your own schedule and hanging out with your team, and it’s just like dang, now I have to write a five page essay now,” Kiwalabye said.
