Spring semester starts with a snowstorm
By Matthew Purucker · News Editor
After 17 inches of snow accumulated on Sunday and bitter wind made the 10-degree temperature outside feel below zero in Grove City, students responded to once-in-a-generation conditions as the college decided to move Monday classes online.
Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Peter Frank did not recall a previous time when the college made this “very unique” decision, saying that it had been many years since the college canceled classes or moved them online.
“With an extraordinary amount of snow, it was determined that we had a situation that was much more complicated than simply plowing sidewalks,” Frank said about the reason behind the decision. “Snow removal was a major challenge on all sidewalks, driveways and parking lots as it became clear that we were running out of space to put snow, not to mention the challenge of clearing the snow around all the building entrances. All this despite hours of hard work by the operations staff on a Sunday,” he added.
Along with Frank, President Bradley Lingo, Vice President for Operations Susan Grimm and Vice President of Student Life and Learning Larry Hardesty assessed the operational and safety status of the campus before coming to the decision.
“As a leadership, we work very hard to provide an excellent educational environment for students, with faculty and facilities of the highest caliber, and this also includes doing our best to ensure a safe and accessible campus for the residential community,” Frank said. “In my interaction with students, they were grateful for all the hard work and dedication of the campus operations staff, and I’m very thankful for the positive and respectful attitude reflected by so many.”
Meanwhile, with snow covering campus and continuing to fall, some students braved the fierce conditions and participated in a spontaneous worship service Sunday morning. Senior David Thomas and sophomore Luke Chambers led and coordinated worship.
“Over the past few years, I have helped lead worship at Redeemer Anglican,” Thomas said. “God has given everyone in his body different gifts, and leading worship is a way (I) get to serve the body. It is truly a joy for me.”
About 150 students from various churches gathered to worship, singing seven songs, reading from Scripture and liturgies and praying together for slightly over an hour.
“To be honest, we all just wanted to (worship),” Thomas commented on why he and other students gathered in Harbison Chapel, referencing 1 Corinthians 14:26. “At Redeemer Anglican, worshiping together with those people is a highlight of each week, and we didn’t want to miss out on that. So, I don’t think it would have been wrong to watch online church, but there is something irreplaceable about worshiping with the body of Christ.”
Accompanying Thomas and Chambers were sophomore Brooke Garrett and junior Alayna Dorst playing guitar and singing, while junior Bryce Pope played cajon and senior Thomas Cross played violin.
“I got to worship with some of my close friends who I rarely get to worship with, as well as many who I don’t know personally and yet am family with through the body of Christ,” Thomas said. “This was deeply encouraging to me.”
