For Some Commuters, 'Snowverkill' Brings Cabin Fever

On-campus residents aren't the only ones going stir-crazy. Commuting students, a majority of the students at Mason, are feeling the effects of 'Snowpocalypse' and 'Snowverkill,' and most of them are shoveling
(Photo submitted by Mason student Julia Compton, who lives off campus)
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While Patriots on campus are snowed in with at least a few amenities, many off-campus students are stuck with nowhere to go and little to do.

Off-campus students were left stranded in the wake of one of the area’s largest storms in history; throughout Fairfax city, roads and sidewalks were either poorly plowed or completely untouched.

Due to the extreme weather, both Mason shuttle and CUE bus systems were not running much of this week, and consequently left some students stranded. Students with internships in Washington, D.C., like senior art and visual technology major Julia Compton, had to call off work because Metro closed above-ground stations.

“I had to call into work last night and take Monday off because I knew there was no way I’d be able to make it into the city,” said Compton. “My boss e-mailed me back saying that the president of the company and two other employees made it in.”

For other students, the cabin fever is starting to itch students into action – albeit igloo building or shoveling sidewalks.

“I’m really bored, surrounded by high school[ers] and little kids . . . I spent three hours on Saturday shoveling, spent probably three more yesterday shoveling and I haven’t left the house at all,” said nursing major Christin Zink, who says she has been watching TV and studying, while coping with gym withdrawals, over the weekend while snowed in at home.

Louis Reichbauer, a senior art and visual technology major, is one of the students that is not pressing his luck getting out in the weather.

“Being snowed in is wonderful with good company and good food,” said Reichbauer.

Some commuter students, such as Kyle Johnson who drives from Manassas each day to campus, say they are enjoying missing out on a tedious drive.

“The whole weekend I was stuck in old town Manassas at my friend Chelsea’s house. We walked 6 miles in waist deep snow to go sledding,” said Johnson.  “When we shoveled, the snow we collected off of the 30-foot driveway built a six-foot-tall snowman and a five-foot-tall snow castle that could fit five people comfortably.”

Mason, closed for the fourth full day this week due to inclement weather, plans to operate normal hours tomorrow Friday, Feb. 12, according to a public announcement posted on the school’s website. As of early Thursday morning, many mass transit systems, including the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority and the CUE bus service, have yet to publicly announce their open/close status for tomorrow.