The brutal snowstorm, a result of what was called the “bomb cyclone,” brought high winds, heavy snow, and no school for the students of Williston on Thursday, January 4.

Unlike the snow day from last year, this year’s was deemed too severe for students to be outside, and they were asked to spend the majority of the day in the dorm, waiting out the intense amounts of snow.

Students tried to make the most of the day as the storm blanketed Easthampton with upwards of eight inches of snow. Kassandra Orcutt ’19 enjoyed the day with the friends in her dorm, “I spent a lot of time with my dorm. We had dorm activities, and there was pizza, cookies, and movies,” she said

A large majority of students chose to keep to their room, and catch up on sleep. Braden Heald ‘18 and Will Stout ‘19 both spent a lot of time playing Xbox and watching movies. Heald said he “played a lot of Guitar Hero, and did not do much else.”

Although restrictions were set early on about boarding students leaving campus, an intrepid few managed to head into town before word came down for students to stay inside.

Logan Geisness ’18 did not want to miss the opportunity of seeing a snow-covered Easthampton.

“I walked around, checked out the town, and then made my way back to the dorm to watch a movie with my friends,” he said.

Most students enjoyed the day off and agreed it was the correct decision, with the freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall. Heald referred to the conditions being “dangerous,” and many of his peers agreed. Other students were less worried with the weather conditions and simply grateful for the rare day off.

However, some students did have negative things to say – not as much about the snow day as about its lingering impact on the week.

Xavier Thibault ’18 was not happy with the schedule change on the following day. “I did like the snow day, but I didn’t like that it cost me my first and last free on Friday,” he explained. “I had a nice two-class day, and it turned into a five-class day.”