By Joe Vitale
Meteorologists and city officials spent Monday of this week urging New York City to prepare for a historic blizzard that ultimately dodged the city, bringing just 9 inches of snow instead of 26 and mild winds instead of blistering ones.
But it still brought Fordham’s campuses — and the city — to a standstill.
Public Safety announced that campuses would be closed as of 1 p.m. Monday, Jan. 26, through Tuesday, Jan. 27. With all classes cancelled, the university anticipated a late opening on Wednesday, Jan. 28, but a follow-up email on Tuesday announced that classes would resume on Wednesday.
A number of university services — from Ram Vans to neighborhood shuttle and subways services — also experienced limited schedules on Monday and Tuesday due to the impending blizzard.
Food services experienced a number of early closings on Tuesday, but are scheduled to resume normal schedules on Wednesday.
Fordham’s decision to close its three campuses followed cues from the city, which shut down the subway system, cancelled flights in and out of the city, closed several bridges, cut ferry services and even closed roads.
It also prompted the university to clear roadways and walkways overnight on Tuesday.
“Facilities were out as soon as they could start plowing when it became an inch and a half-to two inches,” said Robert Davan, senior security supervisor at public safety.
“They were doing sidewalks outside fences, sidewalks and roadways on campus,” he added.
“Mr Carroll errs on the side of safety,” said Davan, referring to John Carroll, Director of Public Safety.
“He doesn’t want people to get hurt and he doesn’t like professors and support staff having to commute” in bad conditions, Davan said.
With no reports of injuries, Davan also said that Public Safety decided not to request that students stay indoors during the storm.
“We didn’t restrict kids like we did two years ago when we did with Sandy…but we didn’t [want] anybody killed or injured,” he said.
“But last night kids were free to go wherever,” he said.
Though the late January storm marks the first class cancellations of the spring semester, an abundance of class cancellations have resulted in altered semester schedules in the past.
In 2014, for example, the university had weather-related cancellations that cost students two Wednesdays, one Monday, one Thursday and a half-day on a Tuesday. In response, the university cancelled reading days at the end of the semester.
In 2013, Hurricane Sandy wiped out a week of classes during the fall semester and forced a condensed schedule.
