By Elizabeth Coss
For over a week, Youngstown State University has been covered in snow, and faculty and students have made the most out of the almost 13 inches covering the grass.
Donald Priour, associate professor in physics and astronomy, built not one, but two igloos between the Ward Beecher Hall and Maag Library.
Priour found the act of making the igloos both rewarding and satisfying enough to stay the night in the first igloo he built Jan. 18.
“I occupied the igloo for approximately five hours between about 11:30 p.m. and 4:30 a.m. Tuesday evening until I decided to vacate the structure and take a quick nap in my office prior to my morning class,” Priour said.
To stay the night, Priour brought pillows, a waterproof blanket, a comforter and a smaller blanket, and he used plastic containers as makeshift tables for various items like gloves, glasses and a can of Dr Pepper.
Priour saw building the igloos on campus as an opportunity he couldn’t pass up, noting not just his enjoyment from the experience of making the igloos, but also the university’s.
“I also have often thought that at a fundamental level, most — if not all — of us are kids at heart, and it can be rewarding and invigorating to do something challenging simply for the sake of doing that thing. Also in that vein, I wanted to set up a space for members of the campus community to enjoy,” Priour said.
Faculty weren’t the only ones taking advantage of fun in the snow. One student, Spencer Tatta, a sophomore marketing major, saw the weather as an opportunity to not only enjoy the snowfall, but to also build a giant snowman on campus.
Tatta started working on the snowman Jan. 19 in the afternoon and finished it that night with the help of others at the university.
“I started the snowman on my own, but people saw and joined in. Through the day, I had 50+ people help me build the snowman,” he said.
Tatta said he started the snowman as content for his YouTube channel, and he constructed it somewhere for everyone to see.
While some enjoyed the snow on campus, YSU’s grounds department was busy managing the snow on the roads and keeping them free of ice.
David Ewing, associate director of Grounds, said YSU sets routes for its snow trucks then sends them out onto the roads.
“We have dump trucks with salt spreaders on the back of them, so we’ll plow them and salt them,” Ewing said.
Grounds also plows the sidewalks, entrance ways, steps and parking lots at the university.
Ewing said as far as unplowed sidewalks are concerned, it falls on the owner of the property to clear the snow.
For any questions about YSU’s snow treatment process, students can call the grounds department at 330-941-7200.
