This post was written by Senior Staff Writer Matt Rist.
On what was scheduled to be the last day of finals, some students are left on campus to bundle up and battle the snowfall that is crippling the District and leaving people stranded across the region.
Light wind and a steady stream of snow that moved into the area Friday night and continues to fall on Saturday has brought at least a foot of snow to Foggy Bottom, resulting in the closure of the Mount Vernon Campus, Metro service outages, airplane cancellations and other travel delays in the District.
For the more than 1,000 students stranded in D.C., residence halls will remain open until 5 p.m. Monday, said Seth Weinshel, director of GW Housing Programs.
Many local restaurants are braving the snow and staying opened for normal business hours on Saturday. Chipotle on 1837 M St., will be open until 6 p.m. and Tonic will keep the kitchens open until 9 p.m. Lindy’s, Trader Joe’s and TGI Friday’s all plan on staying open for their business hours.
University spokeswoman Michelle Sherrard said J Street and other on-campus dining options will be closed on Saturday and Sunday.
“Students are encouraged to use their Colonial Cash dollars,” Sherrard said.
Director of Athletics Jack Kvancz said shortly after noon that tomorrow’s women’s basketball game versus Mount St. Mary’s has been postponed.
Sophomore Alex Conlan – who planned to catch a train to New Jersey today but found himself stranded in D.C. until Monday due to the snowfall – said the weather has left once-busy city streets empty.
“It’s really scary out,” Conlan said. “It’s really bad, there are no cars on the road. I haven’t gone out, but what I see from the window is that the snow looks thick and the city looks deserted.”
The few people that dare to venture the streets are pummeled by a steady stream of snow and relatively high-winds and are forced to wade through sidewalks with as much as a foot of snow.
Junior Wesley Callahan, who said he will now be in D.C. until Sunday night, said the streets on campus had not been plowed as of 1:15 Saturday afternoon.
Juan Ibanez, associate vice president of Facilities, said that “all sidewalks have been cleared at least once, as well as building entrances and parking lot entrances.”
He added, “The snow continues, as does our work.”
Though the snow means work for Ibanez and his team, freshman Preston Reynolds, who is stuck at GW for at least an extra night because his flight to California was canceled, said he saw the inclement weather as an opportunity to play in the snow.
“I’m out there making the best of it,” Reynolds said. “I don’t have mittens, so I can’t throw snow balls, but I’ve never been in a snow storm before so this is really cool.”
While some brave students venture out to play in the snow, students left behind inside residence halls are worried that they might be kicked out of housing at noon on Sunday, the deadline for leaving housing for winter break.
“They are only allowing me to stay until Sunday and then I have to stay at a friend apartment,” Conlan, a West End resident, said. “It’s kind of annoying. I haven’t heard from housing yet to see if I can stay.”
Despite closures of a few businesses near campus, freshman and resident of Mitchell Hall Chris Genovese said he would weather the storm just fine.
“It’s weird being out here knowing that nothing is open,” Genovese said. “But I’ve got food in my room and 7-Eleven in the basement, I’m good.”
Emily Cahn and Lauren French contributed to this report.
