Weather-Weary Bloomfield College Plows Through Remainder of Semester

Editor's note: Bloomfield College Beat is a weekly feature written by BC students focusing on life on campus. This week's column is written by Amira Onibudo, a junior broadcast journalism major.

Since classes at Bloomfield College began Jan. 20, five snowstorms within a three week period forced the college to cancel classes, close early and issue three delayed openings. Students began to wonder if their grades would be affected by this while others enjoyed catching up on sleep.

Bloomfield College has a commuter population of almost 80 percent, making the decision of closing the campus an easy one. Some commuter students traveled close to an hour to attend classes on time and wondered if it was worth it.

“I live in Englewood,” said Lakia Young-Broadhurst, a sophomore broadcast journalism major, “and it takes me almost 45 minutes to get to campus and with the snow adding to it, you had to make a decision between your safety and your grade.”

Professors and faculty were concerned about the weather conditions and made the decision to cancel classes though classes were already delayed or due to close early. They felt the safety of the students was more important than holding a two-hour class no one would attend.

Professor Paul Genega, a creative writing instructor that lives two-and-half hours away from the campus, knows firsthand how the commuter student body must feel about getting to campus.

“My syllabus has a lot of flexibility," he said. "Nonetheless, in my intermediate creative writing class, students turned in their first homework assignment this week when normally they’d be on their second.”

With the loss of class, this has affected the flow of coursework for some, while many professors have planned accordingly.

Some students feel their education is too important and no matter what the weather condition is, they will find a way to make it to their classes.

“I walked to school during the snowstorm and when I got to class my clothes were soaked!" said Rosa Salamea, a senior broadcast journalism major. "But I felt good knowing that I would not be behind in my assignments."

While others may have had the same intention, getting the car on the road delayed their chances of making it to campus.

“When we had the first delayed opening, it took me two hours to dig my car out,” said Ramon Ortiz, a senior creative arts and technology major. “When I finally finished, I realized it was way too dangerous to go out anyway so I made the decision to stay home.”

For some students, last week was the first full week of class since the semester began and hopefully it will not be the last. With the forecast showing nothing but sun this week, Bloomfield College students can only hope Mother Nature will bring spring a little sooner.

For direct alerts on school delays and closings, sign up online at e2campus.net/my/bloomfield.