‘Snowpocalypse’ underwhelms North Carolina students

By Rachel Roberson – [email protected] – Staff Writer | Feb. 25, 2015 |
It was called the “snowpocalypse.”
Hundreds of people across the country were worried about poor driving conditions and hypothermia, and UNC Asheville students were no exception.
“There wasn’t even much snow,” Emily Beall, a sophomore art student from Evans, Georgia. “It was just ice.”
Beall said she found the school’s handling of the so-called “disaster” compared to the actual outcome of the “snowpocalypse” to be ridiculous.
“I don’t think the school handled it well,” Beall added. “I think there should have been more canceled classes than there were because it was not safe to drive for those people who live off-campus.”
Other students said they were happy with the “icepocalypse.”
“I enjoyed missing school,”said Hannah Wiepke, an art history student from Chapel Hill. “I enjoyed the ice days — they weren’t really snow days.”
Jane Barnett-Lawrence, a junior history student from Carrboro, said she had painful knots in her back and shoulders all week from tensing up against the cold. Barnett-Lawrence also said she was angry over classes not being cancelled Thursday, despite the high temperature for that day being only 12 degrees.
“Asheville schools were closed because of wind-chill and because it was so cold,” Barnett-Lawrence said. “I have an 8 a.m. every single day.”
Barnett-Lawrence went on to explain how much she disliked the “awful email on how to stay warm,” saying that she didn’t see why classes weren’t just canceled that day.
The email, sent to all UNCA students, provided warnings and tips for safe driving and prevention of hypothermia and frostbite, such as how to spot if someone is experiencing these conditions.
Wiepke said she found the email about safety during cold weather to be funny.
“I understood why it was sent because maybe people have never experienced this weather before,” Wiepke said. “The cold never bothered me anyway.”
Wiepke also appreciated the initial email warning from administration, but she did not appreciate the following email only delaying classes, thus putting students out in the dangerously cold weather.
Wiepke said she slipped and fell on the sidewalk while going to class.
“I think that the school needs to do better with de-icing the sidewalks and the parking lots,” Wiepke said.