Friday, March 29, 2024

Snow school!

Students take snow day to play, have a ball

February 2, 2011

Time lapse of Grand River Avenue and Division Street showing the 11 inches that fell overnight.

Photo by Josh Radtke | The State News

As forecasts of record snowfall and harsh, wintry conditions became widespread, English senior Hannah Cooley and communication senior Leah Brand hatched a plan.

If MSU administrators decided to cancel classes across the university, they would build a fort made of blankets.

Their plan was green lighted when officials e-mailed students Tuesday afternoon to notify them of a university-wide suspension of Wednesday classes. It’s the first time MSU has canceled classes since 1994.

“This is what you do on snow days when you’re a little kid,” Brand said as she sat in the fort the duo, along with a friend, constructed in the common area of Abbot Hall.

Cooley and Brand were two of many Spartans who took advantage of a day’s reprieve from classes. Blizzard conditions buried MSU and East Lansing in about 11 inches of snow, making the area a veritable breeding ground for winter activities.

Some students took part in snowball fights. Others broke out snow boards and made ramps out of the mounds of snow left in the wake of city snow plows.

At least one group diverted from an original plan of digging to China to construct a fort.
And although classes are scheduled to resume today, many are bound to look back on a rare occasion: an MSU snow day.

Snow ball war
Although the storm encouraged most of MSU’s students to stay indoors, Danny Clugston seized the opportunity to wage war.

Clugston, a human biology sophomore, engaged in combat for a snow ball fight with several of his friends on Wednesday in Adams field.

Dressed in a white camouflage Under Armour coat and reflective goggles — typically used for snowboarding — Clugston said he and his friends spent nearly a half-hour outside fighting for snow ball supremacy.

After the fight concluded, Clugston said he planned to relax with his friends.

Brent Castine, a history sophomore, also took part in the snow ball fight and said he really enjoyed having the opportunity to be a part of it.

For Castine, the snow day canceled three of his classes, so he said he planned to keep throwing snow balls, sleep and catch up on homework.

“It was kind of like, ‘How are we going to get to class tomorrow?’” Castine said. “We’re just having fun and enjoying the snow day.”

Setting up camp
Outside of Holmes Hall, a group of MSU students were found making a snow fort on their day off. The snow was flying as the group shouted, “We’re building a tunnel to China!”

Psychology sophomores Claire Gatesy, Sam Sollestre and Lauren Lendzion were more than ecstatic when the snow day was announced.

“I got the e-mail when I was in a lab. The whole class started cheering and clapping,” Lendzion said.

“Then we played ‘Let it Snow.’”

Minutes later, a student showed up with a shovel to join in the fun.

“Would you like to use a shovel?” asked Paul Matouka, a Lyman Briggs freshman.

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The group decided to build a tunnel through a pile of snow the plows had made in order to build a snow fort.

“I found out last night that I didn’t have lab last night. I went to class, and it was canceled,” Matouka said, reflecting on the moment he found out about the snow day.

After 15 minutes of shoveling, digging and packing, the group successfully created their own snow fort to relax in and enjoy MSU’s snow day.

Snow creatures
It was going to be a bonding activity: residents of Snyder and Phillips halls and their mentors, out on the courtyard, building animals in the snow.

But when none of the residents showed up, the mentors built snow sculptures anyway.

Using small hills of snow made from pathways being cleared, about five mentors worked to build a sea monster outside, each ridge a curve of the monster’s body rising from the sea of snow. Snow spikes rose from the creatures back and another mound of snow served as the head with large eyes and a gaping mouth.

“It’s good to have some relaxation on a day off,” said Katie Lowden, associate complex director for Snyder and Phillips halls. “None of us really have much experience (sculpting snow) ­— it’s just for fun.”

Serious sledding
It used to be a lettuce box ­— stuffed full and shipped across the country to Michigan where the lettuce was taken out and the cardboard was flattened and disposed of.

Then along came advertising sophomore Zoë Suffety. And soon the box had a new purpose.

Sledding.

The hill was the snow-covered steps next to the Farm Lane bridge.

Dangerous, maybe. But fun? Definitely fun.

Suffety went first, laughing all the way down, ending in a pile with her lap full of snow.

“You gotta make sure you keep your hands up or your face will go straight into the steps,” Suffety said.
Her roommate, prenursing sophomore Kara Louch, followed close behind.

“It was so fun!” Louch said.

Even advertising sophomore Austen Hohendorf, who got a small cut on his knuckle while sledding down the steps, said the experience was worth it.

“It’s probably the best snow day I’ve ever had,” Hohendorf said.

Staff writers Emily Wilkins, Zane McMillin, Kellie Rowe and Dillon Davis contributed to this report.

Want to reflect on more snow day memories? Check the news tab for more, visit the photo galleries for pictures or click the multimedia tab to see video from MSU’s eventful snow day.

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