Around 6 p.m. on Monday, March 12, students were alerted that Brandeis would be closed the following day due to an oncoming winter storm. All classes and public activities were canceled.
Snowfall began late Monday night and continued all throughout Tuesday, falling heavily in the
late morning and afternoon and diminishing in the late evening. Total snowfall in Waltham was around 20.5 inches, according to CBS Boston.
Although the university was closed, certain facilities and services were kept open including the SCC and the Farber section of the library. For dining, the Sherman Dining Hall operated on normal hours, though Usdan was closed. Dunkin’ Donuts and the Hoot Market were also open, but closed early.
Other operating facilities included Gosman Sports Center, Usdan Gameroom and Chum’s Coffeehouse. University police were on duty all day. Transportation services were not available.
A number of public events were cancelled due to the storm. The Sex and Sexuality Symposium’s 8th Annual Research Conference, featuring student research on gender, sex and sexuality and a keynote address from Dr. Heidi Levitt was canceled. Other canceled events included a lecture on Charles Darwin’s “Origin of Species” as part of the Mandel Center of the Humanities’ Close Looking Series. A Fine Arts Abroad Student Panel was also canceled.
The second panel discussion on Civil Society and Human Rights in a series of talks called Reversing the Gaze: African(ist) Perspectives on Europe and Beyond has been tentatively rescheduled for April 10 at Rapaporte Treasure Hall from 12 to 2 p.m. All other postponement dates for cancelled events are to be determined.
Some students stayed indoors during the blizzard, while others took advantage of the snow-covered campus to go sledding near the hill by the library. No known damage was sustained by any facilities, and Facilities staff had most main pathways cleared throughout the day.
At 8:22 p.m. on Tuesday, students were alerted Brandeis would have a delayed start on Wednesday, March 14, opening at 11 a.m. Snowfall was predicted to decrease during Tuesday night, amounting to a slight overnight accumulation of about one inch.
