By Dylan Pichnarcik
Asst. News Editor
Students and faculty were notified that FSU would be closed due to a forecast of a significant winter storm at 12:20 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 12 for the following day.
After a decision was made to cancel classes, Dan Magazu, director of communications, and University Police were notified so the announcement could be made public via FSU Alert - the University’s emergency notification system.
The National Weather Service forecast that Framingham would receive five to eight inches of snow.
According to Dan Giard, executive director of facilities, “A crew of 18 to 20 snow blow, sweep, and plow roads. We have about half a dozen [maintainers] that plow, while the rest of them are shoveling entranceways and sidewalks. … We’re just trying to keep campus safe.”
Giard also said that maintainers treated the roads and sidewalks around campus with salt prior to the start of the storm.
Along with the work performed by the Department of Facilities, Giard said Facilities has a contract with a tractor company to help maintain the larger parking lots on campus during severe winter weather.
With classes canceled and the daily operations of FSU halted, only essential personnel were required to report to work. One of the largest departments asked to report was Sodexo.
While Dining Services prepared meals for students and those who remained on campus, their operating hours were reduced from their normal weekday schedule.
Typically, the McCarthy Dining Commons begins serving breakfast at 7:30 a.m. and lunch at 11:30.
On Tuesday, the Dining Commons began serving breakfast at 9 a.m. with breakfast and lunch offerings throughout the day.
Ucook and Magellan’s remained open following regular weekday hours.
Ram’s Den Grille and Sandellas, two locations that offer à la carte meals, adjusted their hours. Both opened at 6 p.m. and closed at their regular weekday times.
Dunkin’, ‘The Snack Bar’, and the faculty and staff dining room remained closed throughout the day.
Other facilities used by students such as the library and the athletic center were also closed.
Facilities did perform their daily cleaning and maintenance tasks even though the buildings were closed to the public.
Due to the forecasted weather University Police issued a parking ban via email for all vehicles on campus. In the message, resident students were directed to move their vehicles to the Union Avenue Parking Lot.
Commuter students were granted permission to use the designated commuter lots, Maynard, and Salem End, as usual but were required to remove their vehicles from campus by 11:30 p.m. Monday evening.
Essential personnel who were required to be on campus during the ban were directed to park their vehicles in the covered portion of the Lower Normal Hill Lot.
The vacant lots - A-Zone, Bement, Adams, Maple, Athletics, Church, McCarthy, Upper Normal Hill, O'Connor, and Linsley - were plowed by maintainers of the Department of Facilities, Giard said.
With classes canceled and most of the facilities used by students closed, many students engaged in outdoor winter activities.
“I went sledding and drank hot chocolate!” said Lydia Marunowski, a resident student.
Resident students Kelsey Gendro and Meghan Johnston also went sledding.
Some spent the day inside. Olivia Alexander, a resident student, said, “I slept and rotted away.”
Other students spent time inside their residence halls to avoid the cold, including Gabriella Florio, a junior.
“Since everything was closed, I just spent time with my roommate,” she said. “We made fun drinks. … I didn’t want to go outside because it was cold.”
The decision to cancel classes allowed commuter students to remain off campus on Tuesday.
Meghan Spargo, a sophomore commuter student, “did pretty much nothing,” she said. “I was happy I did not have to come in. I probably wouldn’t have anyway.”
For students, there were opportunities to leave campus. According to the Student Transportation Center (STC), the Ram Tram and parking lot shuttle service ran during their normal weekday hours, beginning at 3 p.m.
The decision to cancel classes is “the result of many people on our campus consulting with each other,” said President Nancy Niemi. This includes Dale Hamel, executive vice president, the Department of Facilities, and President Niemi. The process is similar for classes scheduled for the evening. However, Provost Kristen Porter-Utley is also involved.
Niemi said that above all, the safety of students, faculty, and staff is “paramount to our considerations” in closing the University - and giving the community time to coordinate their schedules.
“There will be someone who will always think we will have made the wrong decision,” Niemi said. “I will always stand behind thinking about our community first.”
At the end of the storm, fewer than five inches had fallen in Framingham.