Light flurries. Inundated switchboards. Rumors of cancellation.
As the beneficiaries of snow days, students seldom realize who actually makes that declaration, freeing them from their academic responsibilities.
“I think the best part of the snow day is that it gives you the freedom to do whatever you want – you can sleep, do work, play – it’s a ‘get out of jail free card’ for your day,” said Jeff Wright, ’04.
Those making the call don’t just look out the window. Weather forecasts, snow fall accumulation, road conditions both on and off campus, cost associated with closing, and the academic schedule, are all taken into account, said Todd Pelazza, director of security.
Using Accuweather forecasting, a service paid for by the university, security officials receive weather predictions over the phone, and automatic faxes from Accuweather for any projected snowfall over one inch, said Pelazza.
The director of security is one of two people that Dr. Orin Grossman, academic vice president, consults with before making the snow day call. Mark Guglielmoni, director of human resources, is the second.
“I get up about 4:00 a.m. as does Todd Pelazza, and obviously check outside, put on the TV, put on the radio, and go onto the Web site for the State Department of Transportation,” said Guglielmoni. “They have actual cameras of the throughway which helps me gather as much info as I can … to see how traffic’s moving and what the roads are like,” he said.
At 5:00 a.m., Pelazza and Guglielmoni confer about the conditions on and off campus, contacting Stan Kisiel in Campus operations to see if the roads will be cleared by 8 a.m., Guglielmoni said.
The Human Resources office also monitors local school closings to get a better understanding of the severity of the storm, he said.
Grossman will then be contacted again, as the three men discuss the storm’s course and the effect of closing regarding events on the school’s academic calendar, said Guglielmoni.
So far the university has only cancelled classes twice said Grossman, pointing out that a special public event may delay the cancellation of classes.
Security and Human Resources have made calls to local television and radio stations using a code word identifying Fairfield University by 7:00 a.m., to prevent any students from phoning in false cancellations, said Grossman.
“That first day they cancelled was so beautiful because I think it just hit everybody at once, so no one expected it and they probably had tests papers due, and everyone was just like, ‘alright that’s it, we’re going out and having fun.’ I had a blast that day,” said Robert Morales, ’06.
It may be difficult for him to juggle academic activities and the safety of students, but as Grossman does so, he is reminded of what it was to like hear school closings when he was a kid.
“You listen to the station and think, ‘who was that nice person that did this for me?’ And now, it’s me,” said Grossman. “I suppose there are times when I’ve made a few people happy.”
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