Snow Storm 2015: How Juno Affected Students

By ADRIANA GALLINA

Monday, Jan. 26 brought worry that there would be one of the worst blizzards New York City has ever seen. Winter Storm Juno had winds predicted up to 30 miles per hour and snowfall predicted up to 18 inches, although only seven inches accumulated. It was expected to be one of the worst winter storms in the past 30 years. John Carroll, associate vice president of public safety, cautioned in an email interview, “Students should recognize that this storm presents a real danger on foot when they go out.” He continued to warn that vehicles may have difficulty stopping short, so pedestrians should walk defensively. New Jersey Transit stopped service at 8 p.m. on Monday, Long Island Railroad and the MetroNorth were shut down by 11 p.m. All non-emergency vehicles were banned from NYC streets from 11 p.m. onward. However, Greater New York Taxi Association offered free cab service in NYC for emergency responders trying to get to work, and disabled and elderly residents who become stranded, according to USA Today. According to FlightAware, over 3,500 flights were canceled. 

As Quinn Library at Fordham College at Lincoln Center and Walsh Library at Fordham College at Rose Hill will remain open, Carroll suggests students “stay in and catch up on reading and studying.” 

Many students plan to spend their time watching Netflix marathons and binging on hot chocolate. Let us hope, if nothing else, Wi-Fi doesn’t falter. All Broadway shows were officially cancelled by 3:30 p.m. on Monday, but perhaps the biggest disappointment for New Yorkers was Chipotle closing early on Free Sofritas Day. Another source of food important to Fordham students, Seamless and other delivery sites, could not operate after the travel ban. Mayor De Blasio specifically commented on food deliveries: “A food delivery biycle is not an emergency vehicle.” 

Casey Bivens, FCLC ’18, plans on sleeping, drinking hot chocolate and visiting “Central Park if the snow actually stops falling, I’m sure it’ll look beautiful covered in snow,” she said. Akambi Babatunde, FCLC ’18, originally from Canada doesn’t think much of the snow. “It’s really nothing for me compared to the days up there,” Babatunde said. Shannon Connolly, FCLC ’18, plans on Instagramming artsy pictures and “caption[ing] it with the cheesy ‘Frozen’ song.” Storm Juno was also trending on Twitter with the hashtags: #Blizzard15, #Blizzardof2015, #Juno15, #Snowmageddon2015.

Classes on all campuses resumed as scheduled on Wednesday, Jan. 27.

Additional Reporting by Justin Rebollo and  Connor Mannion Assistant News Co-Editors and Jennifer McNary, Layout Editor.