For most, a snow day means staying warm inside, but for some brave souls, it’s a portal back to their youth. In the wake of the snowstorm that overtook Lafayette College earlier this week, dozens of students took to the outdoors to make the most of the temporary winter wonderland.
Appreciating the rarity of such an event, students like Liam Ventresca ‘29 jumped on the opportunity to relive a childhood experience.
“I haven’t gotten to play in the snow in a couple of years,” Ventresca said. “I thought I’d get out here while I can.”
Perhaps the most popular space to realize this dream was the hill between Pardee Hall and the Oeschle Center for Global Education, which becomes a respectable ski slope and sledding hill with enough snowfall.
Scarlett Saam ‘29, a member of the ski team, united with some of her team members at the top of the hill to enjoy the snowy weekend.
“I think it was like a classic college experience,” Saam said. “I saw a lot of people there who weren’t on Ski Team, and that was nice to see.”
The team chose the hill behind Pardee Hall due to the slope being conducive to maximum “steez,” but there were other factors that came into play.
“When finding good places, it has to be somewhere safe where you’re not going to hit people,” Saam said.
Many Lafayette students attempted to create various sculptures despite the snow’s fine texture — great for skiing, bad for snowmen.
“It was really hard to pack,” Lucas Davis ‘26 said. “It’s very powdery. It was pretty tough.”
Davis worked as a team with Pacey Ely ‘26 and Matthew O’Leary ‘26 to build a snowman on the Quad on Monday afternoon.
“It has the most rich and natural resources,” said Davis of why he chose the Quad. “There was a lot of snow to work with.”
“It’s very public,” said Ely. “So lots of people could see it.”
Another student, Amelia Wolkoff ‘29, got quite creative. Using the snow piled by a walkway, Wolkoff built a chair.
“I wanted to build a chair,” she said.
Though the storm disrupted the start of the spring semester, many students found a silver lining in the inclement weather.
“I think it is a very nice way to start the semester,” Saam said.