Bad Weather Causes Late Arrivals

Prep Brianna Ko took a seat in the back of her car as her mother frantically routed the GPS for a 14-hour long, 900-mile road trip from her home in Loveland, Ohio. The destination was Exeter, New Hampshire. Although Ko’s trip was not an ideal one, she still managed to get to Exeter on the first day of classes by car, at 4 am, unlike many students whose travel plans were delayed.Normally, Ko would have simply caught a short flight to Boston Logan Airport to find a bus waiting to take her back to school. This was not the case.In all, 95 students, like Ko, were unable to attend the first day of classes after break because of the severe winter weather that had struck central and eastern United States.According to Mary Schlangenstein of Bloomberg News, Delta and United were among the many carriers that had to adjust their schedules unexpectedly, cancelling 11,000 domestic flights in a period of four days.The Exonians affected by sudden changes to their itineraries, however, received help from the Academy’s Transportation Office.Day Student Program Coordinator Jan Trueman made contact with the school drivers and other services, such as Caren's Caravan, Green Rides and Seacoast Airport Service, who were willing to transport students from the airport back to campus.“All three companies were at the ready for anything we needed. They did a phenomenal job tracking delays and being so flexible when students we thought would be here on one day ended up coming in the next or several days later,” Trueman said.With the help of cab companies, as well as our own Academy drivers, the last student finally made it back to campus on Saturday, January 11. Trueman elaborated on how grateful she was of the cooperation of the individuals involved in the difficult process.“We are so lucky to have our school drivers and bus/transportation companies that are more than willing to work with just about anything I ask,” she said. “I know for a fact that the parents really value the care and help we give their children.”According to Trueman, delays upon the return to school have never happened at such a large scale during her many years of working at the Academy.“The domino effect of weather issues is amazing. It just stops everything and there is nothing that anyone can do,” she said.Trueman continued, “Even getting angry doesn't help—so you just need to run with what you have—or wait for another play in the game.”Although students were forced to miss classes, the situation did add a couple more days to winter break for some.Senior Sean Haggerty shared how his two-day delay turned out to be a fortuitous accident. “My flight was cancelled twice so I got back on Tuesday evening, but the delay was actually nice because I got to spend more time with my brother who I barely see,” he commented.Some students were afraid that the work they missed would pile up. However, the students who missed classes generally found that teachers were very accommodating and understanding.“The two days of classes I missed were a bit stressful when I got back, especially because I had a history essay due two days later, but my teachers were really helpful,” lower Angela Song recalled.Students were not the only members of the Academy community who were affected by the severe winter weather and airline cancellations. Several faculty members were also unable to get to campus for the first day of classes.The classics department was one of the most heavily affected disciplines.Many classics teachers, including department chair Sally Morris, were unable to make it to the first day of classes. In order to operate without the missing faculty members, several teachers had to fill in for classes with a missing teacher.Classics instructor Nicholas Unger, who filled in for two classes that day, thought that the faculty shortage was dealt with in a quick and efficient manner.“I think our department handled the situation admirably. Mr. Langford, our princeps senatus, quickly handled the coverage issue by emailing the three of us on campus with a proposed schedule.”Classics instructor Paul Langford expresses his gratitude toward his fellow faculty members.“The willingness of those who were on campus to take on extra classes that Monday was an enormous help to their colleagues and a great contribution to the success of those classes,” he said.Despite the trouble this winter delay caused on campus, especially within the classics department, the faculty opposed the idea of cancelling classes. Unger even asserted, “Cancel class? Only if Hannibal is at the gates.”Langford supported the administration’s decision to carry out the regular schedule despite delays for students arriving on campus.“There are more frequent cases in which students are missing due to illness, exceptions granted by petition to the dean of students, and failure by choice to attend a required class,” Langford stated.Langford continued, “Those students have to make up missed work, just as faculty who miss classes have to catch up with their work, for instance, grading a test that a colleague administered in their stead. There was no need to cancel classes.”“Keep Calm and Carry On,” Unger mused, “as our friends across the pond say.”