<p>This is so cool. And, people give me grief for being such a Swarthmore cheerleader.</p>
<p>300 Swatties were stranded by flight cancellations on Saturday. Swarthmore kept dorms open for them. Dean Campbell and Housing Coordinator Rachel Head raided the Sharples Dining hall for supplies and started cooking Sunday breakfast for the students at ML dorm at 4:30 in the morning!</p>
<p>300</a> Students Stuck on Campus Because of Snow Storm :: The Daily Gazette</p>
<p>My S was waiting at the Swarthmore train station for 2 1/2 hours on Saturday afternoon before SEPTA showed up. SEPTA’s website, which I was able to check, didn’t say anything about canceled or late trains. He made it home to NJ around 10 PM. I guess he’s one of the lucky ones.</p>
<p>My son was one of those stranded at Swarthmore during the storm while we were at a local hotel. It was one of the worst storms I have ever experienced. Thankfully we got our Sunday afternoon. My son said it was fun getting snowed in there.</p>
<p>My D (sophomore) had a cancelled flight on Saturday and stayed the extra night on campus. She said they all had a lot of fun watching movies, playing in the snow (letting off steam after finals!) and that the deans were great. Pasta carbonara for dinner and breakfast in the morning. The positive on-campus experience partially compensated for the next 2 days of airport delays, cancellations, and nail-biting near-lost connections. She finally made it home to the midwest late Monday night. She also learned the hard way that one with very poor uncorrected vision does not put glasses in checked luggage!</p>
<p>Very cool. I remember Swat took such good care of my son when he was sick once in his sophomore year. Cannot help but be impressed…</p>
<p>Given the emergency conditions, things worked out very well. The Deans directed Sharples to set out food Saturday for take-out and also furnished pizza for Sunday dinner in the Parrish parlor area. Allowing the students to stay in their rooms for several more days provided time for the Philadelphia airport to resume normal operation. We called Swarthmore Saturday morning after our son’s flight was canceled and Rachel Head returned our call to provide an update. We were very impressed with the care and concern provided for the students.</p>
<p>Seriously, I was really surprised by this. I was stuck at Swarthmore through Tuesday, and they treated us so well. They gave us free food, kept the heating on, and were very responsive to our concerns. Rachel Head deserves to receive a few thank you cards.</p>
<p>I hope all of you, parents and students, realize how unusual it is for a school to do that.
(As is providing free storage space for the summer ;))
I miss being a Swarthmore parent… We could always count on them to be helpful…</p>
<p>A few corrections: The breakfast was really a brunch served at around 1:30 pm, not at 4:30 am. Rachel Head ordered 30 pizzas for dinner (!), and the next day we were fortunate to have a lot of leftover food from some dining services meeting, the food which Rachel Head very kindly brought to Parrish for people who were still left. I have nothing but gratitude for her and Dean Campbell.</p>