Two weeks ago, Stevens classes went fully remote for a day—for the first time this semester—after a snowstorm was forecasted to cause icy conditions and bring a few inches of snow. This came after a week of bitterly cold temperatures and scattered snow storms. Earlier in the same week, Stevens was forced to close all parking lots, with the exception of Babbio Center’s parking lot, due to the icy conditions that were caused by a separate storm on January 16. With all these recent closures, students are wondering if Stevens is being more precautious and diligent about dangerous weather conditions after a belated closure during the Fall semester that left many students having to commute back to their homes in treacherous conditions.
Unlike the switch to remote during the Fall semester, the recent closure came in anticipation of the storm and not during it. This left students with ample time to make plans to attend remotely the next day. In contrast, the school did not switch to remote operations until about 11 a.m. the day of the September 29 rainstorm, with students attending classes in person prior to 11 a.m. This led to much confusion as some of the professors had already convened for 11 a.m. classes in person and were unsure whether to dismiss students immediately or try to hold class in a hybrid manner. Regardless, the response to the recent bad weather has been spot on, with this good trend hopefully continuing in the future.
Residential students intended to make the most of this quasi-snow day. Some students were seen skiing on campus during the school day (which is regrettably against Stevens sledding policy). However, most opted to stay indoors as temperatures reached a chilling 18 degrees Fahrenheit. Parts of the campus were left covered with snow and ice, and snow remained on the lawns for several days after the storm before it melted. Thankfully, most of the campus’s walkways were pretreated with salt before the snow came down.
As for the rest of Hoboken, street cleaning was suspended January 15 and 16 due to snowfall. Despite Stevens going virtual on January 19, Hoboken public schools remained open through the week. The city of Hoboken urged residents to remain indoors and to limit unnecessary travel. It also reminded residents to keep sidewalks clear and remove all snow and ice from the sidewalk after the storm was over.
