On the morning of Jan. 10, students across Vanderbilt woke up to see a relatively rare sight in Nashville — snow. As Vanderbilt administration opted to cancel classes, it meant one thing: an official snow day!
Fashion
Across campus, students donned outerwear to combat the cold. Notable trends included an abundance of organization-related clothes, such as two Tri Delta sisters wearing their signature navy-and-yellow sweatshirts and Spirit of Gold members wearing their travel gear. Others opted for Vanderbilt “V” branded jackets and hats. Some students even wore over-ear headphones, which acted as make-shift ear muffs in the frigid snow. Many were also seen wearing mittens of various materials.
Popular items worn around campus included Aritzia Super Puffs, North Face puffers, Carhartt beanies and Alo yoga pants. Some students were also spotted opting for rubber rain boots instead of snow boots — likely because the rarity of snow in Nashville keeps snow boots off most packing lists. Another trend was Doc Martens boots, typically in black and white.
Snowy fun
Despite the slippery snow and frigid temperatures, many students appeared energized throughout the day. Students from across campus went outside to play in the snow, including impromptu football games at both Wyatt and Alumni Lawns. Furry friends were not excluded from the fun; many owners brought dogs of all shapes and sizes, and squirrels were seen running across the snowy grass.
A snow day would not be complete without a handful — or rather, a fistful — of snowball fights! No matter which lawn you went to on campus, you’d struggle to not find students clumping the sturdy snow in their hands, such as sophomore Claire Wexler.
“I made snowballs and had a snowball fight with friends. It was a lot of fun because we were chasing each other around and occasionally slipping and falling, which made things even more fun,” Wexler said.
Many students reported this being one of the first times they’d seen snow, including senior Ava Kuntz from Orange County, California.
“While I have visited the mountains and seen snow, I have never had the opportunity to experience an entire day of snowfall,” Kuntz said. “It was truly breathtaking, so I spent most of the day outdoors with friends, enjoying the beauty.”
Staying warm
Despite Campus Dining modifying their hours, Rand Hall bustled with students opting to take a break from the outdoors to rest. VandyBlenz was kept open for the day, as well, appearing to have relatively shorter wait times compared to regular hours. Rand also provided hot beverages to students. Others took to Central Library’s Suzie’s for their much-needed coffee break. Some students, including sophomore Alexandra Gladding, opted to go off-campus to eat but struggled to find restaurants open during the snowstorm.
“It was nice to have a day off school and to be able to walk around in the snow. However, when dinner time [came], there were very few restaurants open, which became difficult,” Gladding said in a message to The Hustler.
Story of snowmen
Across campus, students built snowmen, and dozens toppled throughout the day, including Alumni Lawn’s “Chill Guy.” The snowman, named using cardboard from a soda can box and a permanent marker, was primarily constructed by junior Luke Balmer between 9:30 a.m. CST and 11:50 a.m. CST. Snowmen were constructed with various materials, including scarves, hats, sticks and leaves.
Another notable creation appeared toward the end of the day: “Sisyphus,” an approximately 9-foot-8-inch tall snowman. Sisyphus was built by a group of undergraduates that included sophomore Sevaan Prestipino and senior Naol Wordoffa, who started at 10 a.m. CST and finished around 3:30 p.m. Another group of students watched and recorded the builders’ attempts — including several failed ones — to roll the snowman’s torso up two tables positioned as ramps.
“We tried several times to pick up the torso, but it was impossible even with all hands on deck,” Prestipino said in a message to The Hustler. “So, a civil engineering major designed a ramp supported by dining tables as pillars.”
After being given a shovel by passing-by maintenance workers, the group went hard at work to add snow to the tables — likely to add some stability when rolling the ball. At approximately 3 p.m. CST, the torso was successfully rolled up the tables, which was met by cheers from both builders and audience members. The project of “Sisyphus” was concluded with a final pep talk by Wordoffa and a ceremonious group photograph for The Hustler.