By CAITLIN SAXTON
STAFF WRITER
Despite icy roads and slow buses, Rutgers students found the recent snowstorms to be a fun diversion from their normally busy lives.
Before the reality hit of having to shovel out their cars and get back to school, students took the time to enjoy the snowbound staples, like snowball fights and other relaxing activities.
Mackenzie Noda, a Rutgers sophomore and member of the Women’s Field Hockey team, saw the snow day as a way to take some much needed time to relax right before the rush of mid-terms began.
She also enjoyed the fact that practice was cancelled. Noda spent the Feb. 10 snow day with her roommates and fellow teammates starting snowball fights in the streets of New Brunswick with whomever she came across.
The best fight that happened on her walk was with a few firemen who were examining some fallen telephone wires, she said.
“You’d think that pelting firemen with snowballs would get you some form of ticket, but they started it,” Noda said.
After the firefighters examined the wires, one playfully tossed a snowball at Noda’s roommate, said Noda. A simple toss led to an all-out war of Rutgers Field Hockey versus the firefighters.
“They were calling me ‘The Matrix’ because I kept dodging the snowballs,” Lauren Voss, Noda’s roommate said.
Voss, a native of Wisconsin, had prior experience of snowball fights from growing up in a state with even harsher weather.
“It really is all about how you pack the snow,” Voss said when explaining how to deliver the perfect snowball.
The fight with the firefighters lasted for several minutes before the men were called to more important tasks.
But for Noda and her roommates, their snow day adventures were just beginning. “It was as if the snow day made everyone outside act as if they were old friends,” Noda said.
For her Noda and her roommates, everyone they came into contact with was enjoying the day in some way.
“Our neighbors made a pong table out of ice,” Voss said. Among other things that the girls saw were people snowboarding behind cars, ice sculptures and snowmen.
Noda’s boyfriend, Brandon Boykin, even used the high levels of snow to test out the four-wheel drive on his car. “Imagine riding a quad on snow. It was exhilarating!” Boykin said. “I felt like I found my inner man.” |
