Blizzard Slows Shuttle Service

Snow days, long the domain of schoolchildren, apparently exist at Harvard as well—just not for its students.

More than eight inches of snow blanketed Cambridge yesterday, prompting the University to recommend that its schools release nonessential employees early to avoid dangerous commutes.

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino declared yesterday to be a “snow emergency,” and 300 local schools closed earlier than usual.

But classes and exams continued according to schedule at Harvard Law School, and staff there were free to leave at their discretion, said Law School spokesman Michael A. Armini.

At the College, classes also continued fairly regularly throughout the afternoon though the weather complicated students’ intra-campus travel plans.

Shuttles from the Quad were heavily delayed as a result of deadlocked traffic weaving through Harvard Square, frustrating students bundled up on their way to class.

Abby M. Baird ’08 said she left the Quad on board a 2:50 p.m. Yard-bound shuttle yesterday, trying to arrive at a section at 3 p.m.

But Baird said it took her 40 minutes to get to her class—covered in frost.

“I couldn’t do anything about it; the driver couldn’t do anything about it. I arrived with snow in my hair,” she said.

Baird said she experienced more delays throughout the afternoon, much to her chagrin.

The Currier senior, who was waiting at Boylston Gate for yesterday’s 4:45 p.m. shuttle back to the Quad with her arms full of boxes, was quickly becoming covered with snow.

“It’s a nightmare,” she said.

Other students waiting in the snow said the delays also tested their patience, including Melissa M. Garcia ’09, who ducked into Au Bon Pain for shelter after the 4:45 shuttle’s initial 20-minute delay. An hour later, mocha latte in hand, the shuttle Garcia was expecting had yet to arrive.

Despite the tardiness, some shuttle passengers remained understanding.

“The shuttle drivers are doing the best they can, and you can’t blame them for being stuck,” said Brittany M. A. Novak ’08.

Even if students were lucky enough to catch the shuttle, numerous campus events were canceled. The Association of Black Harvard Women’s affirmative action debate between the Harvard College Democrats and the Harvard Republican Club; “Harvard in Allston: Raising Voices for Sustainability, Students, and the Community,” hosted by an Environmental Action Committee subgroup; and a talk with newly tenured government professor Steven R. Levitsky, were postponed.

—Staff writer Charles J. Wells can be reached at wells2@fas.harvard.edu.