On February 1, 2011 the National Weather Forecast stated that the midwest was to be pounded with 8 to 16 inches of snow, frigid winds, and bone-chilling temperatures. Now, being a Michigander I've grown to learn that most weather people tend to exaggerate when it comes to the inches of snow during the winter. So normally, this type of forecast announcement wouldn't fase me or many other Midwest citizens.
However, this forecast brought about a celebration that hadn't been done since the late 70's. What celebration? Well, a SNOW DAY!!! That's right, the weather forecast declared weather conditions so severe, that the faculty of Michigan State University decided to shut down the entire campus and cancel all classes for Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011.
Word began to spread amongst various students around campus that had received the email announcing the suspension of classes via email from the Registrars Office. Students couldn't believe that this was happening. I was actually surprised myself, because like other students, I had never heard of a university shutting down it's entire campus- at least not due to weather.
So how did students pass their free time? Well, the options varied from partying, to catching up with friends, to homework, to catching up on sleep. You name it and students were doing it. I even saw a few students cross country skiing on the sidewalks. Various areas around the campus provided fun activities that students could participate in to help pass the time as well. Either way, students throughly enjoyed their day off. I know I did.
Just as a side note, here in Lansing we totaled 8 inches of snow, shattering the previous record of 2.5 inches around this time of year. So I guess maybe this time the weather people were pretty close :).
Also take a look at this epic blizzard taking place right outside the dorm.
