As students have seen, the winter weather can certainly hinder regular campus life. With few streets successfully plowed and many students unaccustomed to winter driving, the roads have become obstacle courses - that is, if one can even get the car out. How ready were Tufts students for the most recent burdensome blizzard?
According to the Associated Press, the National Weather Service reported that more snow has fallen in Boston during the month of January than in any month since it began keeping records in 1892. The 5.4 inches of snow that fell the Wednesday after the large weekend storm pushed the monthly total to 43.1 inches, breaking the previous one-month record of 41.6 inches, which was set in February 2003.
Senior Alicia Faneuil, like most students on campus, had heard about the storm well before it hit, and tried to prepare for it. Unfortunately, the rest of Boston had the same idea.
"I spent 45 minutes driving around with my friend in the parking lot of a supermarket, only to wait another 45 minutes in the line to be rung up," Faneuil said.
Senior Alexandra Granato, who is from Massachusetts, also chose to stock up beforehand. "On probably the busiest day possible, I went to Costco with my father and stocked up on snacks and practical food," she said. "The lines were the length of the store; however, my father knows his way around and we found a small line hidden near the pharmacy section. Other than that, I made sure my Explorer had a full tank of gas."
Many students saw their worst fears realized after the storm: roads went unplowed and services were closed, many beyond Monday. Quincy's Patriot Ledger said that the state had already used up its winter budget before the Blizzard of '05 even hit and urged Massachusetts to ask for federal aid, lest the state have to remove money from other budgets to cover its blizzard-related expenditures.
Local officials maintain, however, that they provided services per usual. On Jan. 25, Quincy Mayor William Phelan told the Patriot Ledger, "I don't try to cut costs when it comes to snow and ice removal. It's just something that you have to do and figure out how to pay for later."
