On Feb 23 and Feb 24, a historic winter storm swept through Massachusetts, prompting a regional travel ban and school closures across the state. However, despite closing on Feb. 23, Wellesley College remained open on Tuesday, Feb. 24, in a decision that sparked widespread student criticism.
Wellesley Public Schools announced closures for both Feb. 23 and Feb. 24, citing unsafe road conditions. In a message to families, Wellesley Superintendent David Lussier wrote that the decision was made after consulting with the Town’s Department of Public Works and other leaders, writing, “I don’t believe we can safely open schools tomorrow, as we all continue to dig out from the storm.”
According to NBC Boston, road conditions remained dangerous across the state Monday afternoon, prompting Governor Maura Healey to issue a travel ban for the South Coast and Martha’s Vineyard.
“This is a major, major weather event, a major, major storm,” said Healey on Feb. 24. “With the snow totals, the wind gusts, it’s just a tough situation.”
Across the Greater Boston area peer institutions such as Babson College and MIT remained closed on Tuesday, Feb 24 or moved to virtual learning.
In contrast, however, Wellesley College administration announced that the College would operate on a normal schedule on Tuesday. In a campus-wide email, Provost Courtney Coile, Director of Public Safety Ken Ferguson, and Assistant Vice President for Facilities Management and Planning Dan Roderick write that while “main roadways and primary pedestrian paths are passable,” conditions in secondary areas may vary and caution is generally advised.
For many students, however, the decision felt inconsistent.
Like many students, Melissa Rizzo ’28 said she was “very surprised” that Wellesley remained open while nearby schools closed.
“I think it was difficult for many professors to get to campus, so they still held classes over Zoom anyway,” said Rizzo. “It definitely should have been a snow day.”
She described slippery pathways and the challenging conditions of getting to class.
“I had to go to gym class, which I was happy to do, but it wasn’t fun getting there. I think we could have just done with like one more day of giving everybody a chance to handle the snow.”
Amber Moosa ’28, who lives at the French House, described a more serious concern. Because sidewalks along Washington Street were not cleared, she said she was forced to walk in the roadway to reach campus.
“The sidewalks are completely snowed up so that there’s no path for me to walk on the sidewalk, so you have to genuinely walk in the middle of the road,” said Moosa. “[It’s] so dangerous because Washington Street is a major road.”
Moosa also explained that when she called for the escort van, they informed her that it was canceled as “it’s not safe enough for the students to drive.”
“How is it not safe enough for the students to drive, but it’s somehow safe enough for me to walk? At the same time, the campus police refused to drive me because they said I’m not on the list and they only have one car.”
When the News team has reached out to Wellesley administration for comment on their decision, administration replied that there is no additional information beyond what was shared in Monday’s email notification announcing the decision to open on Tuesday.
