Flash FreeFLASH FREEZE COATS CAMPUS

Stephen Bates gets creamed by Molly Turner, Annie Huntington, Austin Doctor, Geneva Stegall, Walter Somerville and Andrew Mollenkoff

Classes canceled due to what critics say could be the worst ice storm of the decade.

Friday’s snowstorm, which was quickly followed by an ice storm of epic proportions, shut down campus and caused the cancellation of Friday classes and Sunday Church commutes, leaving students to busy themselves with snowy shenanigans.

Chaplain Aaron Messner announced the closing of the college at the end of chapel on Friday. His announcement, which consisted merely of a few words, was greeted with a triumphal uproar from the students, who emptied the chapel in record time.

Chattanooga’s promises of snow traditionally turn out to be nothing more than cold rain, but this time was an exception. The storm started Friday afternoon and continued into the night, coating Covenant’s campus with about six inches of powdery snow, prompting some students to seek refuge indoors and others to break out sleds, boogie boards, shopping carts and Lay-Z-Boy recliners—anything they could use to slide down a hill.

“Everybody got what they needed. I got to be an idiot in the snow. My roommate stayed inside for three days straight,” said freshman Austin Doctor. Doctor was among the group who constructed a sled ramp out of a rock on Sanderson Hill.

The snow was by far the dominant force in student activities on Friday, as evidenced by a quick perusal of Students’ Facebook photos. Wintry-titled online photo collections included, but were not limited to, “Ice, Ice, Baby,” “Snow like Saudi Arabia,” “Mobile Uploads,” and “Snow :)” among others. A few students had more ironic album titles, such as Joe Pearce, whose album, “a day at the beach,” contrasted others, such as “The snow started fallin’,” by Corey Snipes, which maintained a more literal approach.

Friday night, a freezing rain transformed the winter wonderland into a slightly more dangerous land by coating every available surface with a slick sheen of shiny ice. When students awoke Saturday morning, they discovered that trees, cars and even some buildings were miraculously covered in a glassy glaze.

“I think it’s funny that our first instinct when we see things covered in ice is to take the ice…and lick it. I got a stomachache Saturday from all the ice I ate. It was irresponsible,” said Molly Turner, freshman ice enthusiast.

The ice was not without drawbacks, however. Residence Life advised students to avoid driving and remain on the mountain Saturday and Sunday, as road conditions were hazardous. To offer an alternative to those missing church because of the ice, various prayer and praise services were held around campus on Sunday morning.

Another downside of the ice is more permanent. The arboreal death toll this weekend was staggering. Trees around campus paid the price for their icy beauty. One of the sorest losses was the Chinese Elm between Mac and Andreas. “We had to cut off a lot of its branches. Its full grandeur will live on only as a memory,” said grounds manager Robert Heiskell’s work-study student, freshman Stephen Bates.

The damage was not limited to Covenant’s campus. Numerous accidents, including a train derailment near Cummings Highway, kept local authorities busy. The derailment, which occurred at the base of Lookout Mountain on Friday at 11 P.M., involved 30 of 134 cars full of mixed freight. One car hit a rail side propane tank causing a small leak, which was quickly patched by authorities.