Winter blast

Students celebrate snowfall with fighting, sculptures

The ground was the only thing that was covered Monday night.

"Take cover!" said Brad Georgic (freshman-forest science) as snowballs flew in all directions narrowly missing him as he dropped to the ground.

That night, many University students took advantage of one of the only considerable snowfalls of this otherwise mild State College winter.

The scene caught the attention of University Police Services when several people used boulder-sized snowballs to block off a section of Curtin Road between Bigler Road and University Drive. The barricades were quickly removed by nearby University police vehicles, as members of the growing crowd shouted obscenities and fired snowballs in the direction of the police.

"We'll let them go as long as they don't hurt anyone and don't block the road again," said Officer Leonard Chan, one of the first officers on the scene.

For the most part, the participants in the snowball fight were just trying to have a little fun, dashing though flurries of snowballs.

"This is awesome, it's great packing snow," said Amy Freedman (freshman-elementary education), just as friends tackled her into a pile of untouched snow.

Amid the flying snowballs, some students displayed their creative talents and molded snow sculptures.

Continuing a tradition from last year at their former dorm, Atherton Hall, Gerry Krauss (sophomore-electrical engineering), Christopher Kapsha (sophomore-mechanical engineering) and Chris Wolf (sophomore-electrical engineering) recreated their "snow lion" in the center of the quad.

"We think this really shows our school pride," said fellow sculptor Georgic.

Sarah Ames (freshman-biology) said she was glad to see the white stuff falling Monday night.

"It's finally winter," she said.

According to the National Weather Service in State College, between 10 and 14 inches fell in State College during the storm, which began Monday evening and continued through yesterday.