Heavy snowfall strands students

College freshman Jessica Wolfe boarded a flight home to Denver, Co., at 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 20.

But, as the plane approached Denver International Airport, it was unexpectedly diverted to Nebraska because of weather conditions.

Wolfe had five minutes to decide whether to stay in Nebraska - an eight-hour drive from her home - or to fly back to Philadelphia.

She chose Philadelphia - with 24 hours to find a place to stay.

The University closes most college houses for winter break, including the Quadrangle, where Wolfe lives. Only the high-rise and Sansom Place dorms remained open over break.

"It wasn't Penn's fault, but it was definitely stressful because I knew my dorm was closing," Wolfe said.

The interruption to Wolfe's flight was the result of a sudden blizzard that hit the Denver area on Dec. 20 - the last day of final exams - forcing Denver International Airport to close for two days and airlines to cancel over 3,000 flights, according to The Denver Post.

Still, housing officials contend that the extreme weather conditions did not force the University to reopen college houses.

Dana Matkevich, a Housing and Conference Services spokeswoman, wrote in an e-mail that the University "didn't experience any students reaching out to us in terms of staying on campus and not going home to Colorado."

But that did not stop some housing faculty from reacting promptly and reaching out to stranded students.

Sue and Sandy Schwartz, the faculty masters of Fisher-Hassenfeld College House, sent an e-mail to all of its residents urging them to respond if they needed a place to stay.

"Its instinctive," Sue Schwartz said of their decision. "We [did] it because we have three children of our own."

The Schwartz family hosted College freshman and Daily Pennsylvanian staff writer Jacob Schutz until he was able to fly home on Dec. 24.

"I got the Hanukkah and then the Christmas [at home]," said Schutz, who was at the Schwartz home when they were celebrating Hanukkah.

"They were just godsends," Schutz said of the Schwartzs, who gave him a free pass to the Franklin Institute and to an IMAX movie during his stay.

But not everyone was as lucky as Schutz.

Nursing sophomore Stephanie Watts stayed with family nearby when her flight was cancelled and later spent a total of 19 and a half hours at the airport trying to get a flight, including 12 hours on Saturday alone.

"Missing Christmas with my family was kind of hard because that was the first Christmas I missed," she said.

And similar episodes additionally happened with students who were able to leave Penn on time.

College junior Nicholas Watson left Penn before the storm, but he was forced to cancel his vacation to an island resort due to the inclement weather.

College freshman David Gottlieb similarly made it home on Dec. 18 but then spent four days in his house because of the snow.

"We were shoveling for about two days," he said.

As for Wolfe, she stayed with her brother in New Jersey after she was instructed to leave the Quad.

"It was really annoying," she said. "Anyone who lives on the east coast shouldn't complain about getting home" for winter break.

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