On a half-empty campus, as the remaining residents stayed in bed, Trinity’s Estates and Facilities team was out this morning ensuring College stays safe during the oncoming storm.
With the country preparing for what many predict to be the worst snowstorm in decades, the Estates and Facilities team were this morning busy making paths, salting doorsteps and ensuring campus remains hospitable for the hundreds of students who’ll be staying here over the coming days.
While there were no tourists to navigate – Trinity announced yesterday it would be closing its doors until Sunday at 10am – the team were still rushing around campus. At 9am, a digger ploughed its way through Front Square to ensure anyone braving the storm could safely enter and leave campus.
In a press statement yesterday, Trinity’s Director of Public Affairs and Communications Tom Molloy said that the closure was due to “heavy snow”. Molloy said that the Estates and Facilities staff “will work to maintain essential services for residents”.
As the worst of the weather looms, campus remains quiet and calm. While a few stray snowmen – and one igloo – can still be seen dotted across the cricket pitch and New Square, most residents have retired to their rooms to wait out the storm.
Colleges and schools across the country are also closed.
Trinity isn’t used to this type of weather. When Storm Ophelia came last year, it left Estates and Facilities admitting that dealing with a powerful storm was new for them. Now, only a few months later, the staff are working to ensure, whatever comes Trinity’s way today, campus isn’t too badly affected.
The worst of the storm is expected to hit this evening and the government has warned people not to take unnecessary risks. Some students took the opportunity to return home over the last few days, before the worst of the snow, but many still remain on campus for reading week.
However, over the next few days, non-residents will be unable to access College. In an email sent to residents, the Accommodation office told students that “Front Gate will be the only entrance to the campus”, alongside the entrance to Goldsmith, and “no vehicles may be brought on campus”.
