On Feb. 14, 2007, Dartmouth’s most recent campus-wide snow day, a group of students living in East Wheelock took advantage of the break to enjoy a warm, hearty Lou’s breakfast and have “revelatory” discussions with philosophy professor Susan Brison and an artist-in-residence.
“A whole lot of learning, faculty-student interaction and community building took place at East Wheelock that day even though classes were cancelled,” Brison said, calling it one of her most memorable experiences at the College.
As storms have slammed the Northeast without reprieve, hopeful students have called for college-wide snow days. An official snow day, commuting professors, faculty and staff say, would help those who need to brave icy road conditions.
Dartmouth Dining Services associate director Don Reed said that after such storms, he plans for an additional 30 to 45 minutes of travel time, even though he lives only 18 miles from campus.
Undergraduate housing director Rachael Class-Giguere said she also often budgets extra time into her commute, as she lives about 38 miles north of Hanover.
To avoid the hazardous drive to Hanover from Canaan, about 20 miles east of campus, biology professor Edward Berger bought a small condominium in town. He ultimately sold the condominium and bought a small winter home in Georgia, returning only in warmer weather.
If professors cannot make it to campus because of inclement weather, the weekly x-hour serves as a way to prevent classes from falling behind.
Yet even if the commute is safe, some faculty and staff face difficulty finding a caretaker for children on snow days.
“If my boys have a snow day I figure out childcare between myself, my husband, friends, family and my supervisor,” Class-Giguere said.
Russian professor Lynn Patyk said the incongruence between the snow cancellation policies of her children’s school district and of the College cause problems for her and her husband, history professor Stuart Finkel.
“I also mentioned to both my chair and my dean that the main negative factor impacting my work as a teacher and scholar at Dartmouth was snow days and other school closings that left me scrambling to find child care,” Patyk said in an email. “Dartmouth faculty are transplants without family in the area to cover them on work days when school is closed.”
Finkel was unable to comment, as he was exhausted after trudging home in the snow, Patyk said.
Facilities, Operations and Management, responsible for plowing paths so that people can traverse campus, tries to “truck the snow” that encroaches on parking lots as soon as possible to clear spots for faculty, facilities and grounds services director Gary Hill said. From Nov. 1 through April 1, a ban on overnight parking of private vehicles allows snow plows to function.
“Parking is always a hassle, but a nightmare when they are plowing,” Berger said.
Because many Dartmouth students live on or near campus, a snowstorm does not generally affect their ability to travel safely to class, though students remain dependent on the College for other services.
“We are a residential campus and our priority is you, the students, who are here whether or not we have a storm and there are services you need — food, for example -— regardless of the weather,” Class-Giguere said.
Schools further south have struggled to navigate the snowfall. Georgetown University has called at least two snow days since the semester began in early January, and Duke University had three snow days last week alone.
New Hampshire has received over 55 inches of snow this winter, according to New Hampshire Weather Data. Several students observed that this winter seems to be the snowiest in recent memory.
Berger questioned what the requisite snowfall would be to suspend classes, and he said more snow days could hamper class progress or could possibly extend the term. Because the D-Plan condenses classes into nine- or 10-week terms, Dartmouth students and faculty do not have room to miss days, he said.
