The snow arrived ahead of schedule, blanketing streets and sidewalks in several inches of powder by yesterday morning. Yesterday's snow -- the area's 14th storm in the last 12 weeks -- forced Philadelphia officials to declare a snow emergency yesterday, restricting street parking to allow for plowing. With forecasters predicting up to 20 inches for parts of the region, a flurry of speculation arose among students over possible class cancellations. Though University officials were unable to verify whether school would be canceled by press time, many students were confident there would be no classes today. University officials said the decision to close school would be based on a number of factors and made early this morning. Students can call 898-MELT for information on closings. But some students were not waiting for official cancellation announcements. "I would say I'm positive to quite positive" school will be canceled, College junior Jason Levy said, adding, "Even if school does not close I will protest and not go." Other students were preparing for classes all the same. "I'm trying to... not think that it is, so I can get my work done and have an entire day to be free tomorrow if it is canceled," Wharton freshman Rebecca Hood said. "I'm trying to tell myself that it won't be, but I'm definitely hoping and thinking that it probably will." Though the heavy snowfall caused the majority of students to avoid stepping out during the day, the aisles of the Fresh Grocer were packed with shoppers.
"We're not really stocking up, per se," Engineering and Wharton junior Jake Rosenberg said as he purchased groceries yesterday afternoon with friends. "But we know we're too lazy to go outside tomorrow." Rosenberg expected that class would be canceled and students would spend their day inside. "Who's even reading this article anyway?" Rosenberg asked. For some, the snow was a hassle -- but with a silver lining. "It sucks because you can't really leave your room," College junior Marika Maris said. "But it's good, because we won't have classes hopefully, and I have papers due tomorrow." Aside from causing some students to be housebound for the day, the weather presented other problems. "Precipitation isn't so great for the hair, but it's better than rain, so I don't really mind it that much," Hood said, but added, "I'm ready for the spring though." And some were not entirely optimistic about having a day off. "It would be really nice, but having midterms pushed back -- that would be annoying too," College freshman Beth Mlynarczyk said. On Feb. 7, University officials announced the first snow cancellation in three years, leading some students to hypothesize that a second closing would not come again so soon. "I could see them thinking about it more carefully, just because when you miss more classes, you get behind," Mlynarczyk said. "At the same time, if it's a danger for teachers to drive or to get here, or it just causes more inconveniences, I'm sure that they would cancel," she added.
