Snowstorm snatches spring from campus

A sudden drop in temperatures brought a snowstorm to Ottawa on April 4, making commutes tougher for Algonquin College students.

Many OC Transpo buses were running off schedule. Markya Dorcilhomme, a Level 1 public relations student, said her bus showed up unexpectedly early.

“It kept getting delayed so I thought it was fine, but I ended up having to run,” said Dorcilhomme on campus. “My bus got stuck in the road twice on the way here.”

According to Lilian Ching, a Level 1 mobile application design and development student, a bus on Route 86 didn’t show up at all.

“I had to change the route to go to school,” said Ching.

Even students who don’t bus were delayed by the snow.

Evan Tavnel, a Level 1 student in the welding and fabrication techniques program, drove to class.

“It definitely took longer to get here,” said Tavnel. “I woke up late so I had to wipe off my car and that wasn’t really fun.”

Lois Caracas, a Level 1 public relations student, walked to class.

“Walking to College Square was hard,” said Caracas. “All the wind and snow and rain. I know other people had worse delays. Half of my class didn’t show up.”

The delays created various disruptions in class activities. Greg Keough, a Level 1 business student, was late for an important project.

“I did have a presentation today for my class and this weather affected it,” said Keough. “I was late and I was supposed to go first.”

Benjana Poudel, a Level 1 personal support worker student, nearly had the same experience.

“I waited for the bus like for 45 minutes today,” said Poudel. “It didn’t come, so I had to book a ride because I had a presentation.”

Julia Massey, a Level 4 business marketing student, said, “We didn’t have any classes cancelled, just half of them were not in attendance.”

In addition to creating many practical concerns, the storm disappointed students who were hoping for and expecting spring weather.

“I wasn’t looking forward to snow in April because, you know, last week it was beautiful and we were all wearing jackets, but this week, today, I need to get those winter things out,” said Simran Sanga, a Level 2 project management student.

“They really gave us hope [for spring] and then snatched it away,” said Dorcilhomme.

With reporting by Kaitlyn Lemay, Siobhan Rollo, Claire Donnan, Nathalia Lencioni, Chantal Lapierre, Yuye Jiang, Zixuan Li, Zhiqi Zhou, Laiyiady Lam and Caroline Kirkey