Bone-chilling weather freezes Stevens

A merciless cold hit major regions of the United States this past week, crippling most of the Midwest and chilling areas in the Northeast. Public health experts suspect that the extreme weather has killed at least eight people in the United States. Schools have cancelled classes, shipping companies have delayed deliveries, businesses have advised workers to stay home — this weather has quite literally frozen operations across the country.

The frigid temperatures — which have dipped as low as 5 degrees in Newark, almost breaking the record of 3 degrees set in 1935, according to the National Weather Service — have also penetrated the Stevens campus, damaging campus infrastructure and forcing students to wrap themselves in layers and layers of scarves, coats, jackets, and sweaters.

On the first day of classes last week, administrators discovered an open window in a laboratory in the McLean building that was slightly open for possibly an entire weekend. The cold weather rushed into the building, eventually causing water pipes to burst. “Hundreds of students missed their first day of classes,” said admins in an email to the Stevens community, “researchers were unable to enter their labs, and thousands of dollars of damage was done to the ceiling tiles, walls, floors, piping systems, and elevator.”

Also in this past week, administrators discovered that extreme wind dislodged a piece of plywood that was temporarily sealing a window in the Howe Center, inviting the cold temperatures to creep into the building. Once administrators discovered the open window, it was too late. “Extreme cold penetrated much of the Howe building, causing inconvenience to students and staff in the building,” admins said. “Had this situation been noticed and reported earlier by anyone on campus over the weekend, the disruption of cold in the Howe building could have been avoided.”

As weather became more severe, and as campus infrastructure became more and more impacted, Provost Christophe Pierre and Robert Maffia, Vice President for Facilities and Campus Operations, sent a mass email to all faculty, administrators, and students and instructed them to close windows whenever possible and not chock open doors. “With many old buildings, an aging infrastructure, and chronic cold conditions during the winter months, many unexpected infrastructure challenges arise,” they explained. “Therefore, we need to minimize and, to the greatest extent possible, eliminate those that can be avoided by using good sense.”

Shortly after the National Weather Service issued a warning that a polar vortex was threatening many areas in the United States, Police Chief Tim Griffin sent an email to the Stevens community and warned that cold temperatures could result in falling trees and hazardous winds. He reminded students to keep warm while the outside freezes. “Above all,” he added, “make certain that all windows are closed and locked to avoid pipes from freezing and bursting.”

To protect students from the cold, some professors have cancelled classes and advised students to, instead, remain indoors and stay warm. Take Elizabeth Fassman-Beck, for example, a Civil Engineering professor who sent a message to one of her classes on January 30: “In anticipation of dangerous traveling conditions and advice to minimize outside exposure, I will be recording tomorrow’s lecture for you to view online.”

A few campus organizations cancelled their meetings to protect students. “Tonight’s meeting will be cancelled due to the dangerous weather,” wrote Jonathan Pavlik, secretary of Torch, in a message to its organization members.

Many students swathed themselves in blankets to keep warm. Some also expressed their discontent that unlike other universities across the Midwest and Northeast, Stevens remained open and continued to offer classes, despite debilitating temperatures. Victoria Piskarev, a student, tweeted, “Other schools: oh no its really cold we better cancel classes for the safety of our students. Stevens: if u so much as crack a window open we will drop kick you into the hudson river bitCH.”

Temperatures are expected to improve and warm up in the coming weeks, according to the National Weather Service. Hoboken weather should return to its normal conditions of cloudy skies and 50 degree temperatures for the first few days of February.