As Norah Jones overwhelmed the world Feb. 23 with her eight Grammy awards, Missouri Southern students received even better news.

No classes.

“Thank god,” said Erica Brandon, junior education major.

On Feb. 23, Joplin and the surrounding areas received anywhere from 10 inches to a foot of snow.

Brandon believed the College made the right choice to close down Feb. 24 and 25. She was upset, however, last semester when a snowstorm hit and the campus remained open.

“They didn’t close the last time,” Brandon said. “It was horrible.”

Dustin Storm, junior pre-med major, drove from Webb City the morning of Feb. 25 to find an empty parking lot. He was upset there wasn’t more advance warning for the day’s closure.

“I came on Tuesday morning and the doors were locked,” Storm said. “They need to figure out what they’re going to do in advance.”

College President Julio León made the final decision.

“On Monday, we had so much snow,” León said. “It was going to be treacherous.”

Maintenance crews began working on the snow removal at 8 a.m. Feb. 24 and had everything cleared by the end of the day. The College was preparing to re-open for classes on Feb. 25. However, when temperatures dropped to the mid-teens early in the morning, sidewalks and bridges froze, making conditions too risky.

“Although it was clear, it was still too dangerous on campus,” León said.

Local television stations began scrolling Southern’s first decision to close the evening before, but Tuesday’s closure didn’t circulate throughout the media until 6 a.m. on Feb. 25.

Bob Harrington, physical plant director, said his crew usually will begin removing snow at 4 a.m. Because the snowfall occurred on Sunday, and there was no doubt about a closure, he let his crew arrive for work at 8 a.m.

Two of the maintenance plows broke down, but the staff was still able to finish the job.

“They did a good job with what we had,” Harrington said. “Our equipment is in rough shape.”

He said one of the biggest challenges the crew faces each snowstorm is removing the snow before cars begin to fill the campus.

“We do the best we can,” he said. “There’s a whole lot of campus…it’s a big job.”

Graciela Meilij, senior education major, commutes 30 minutes to campus from Diamond.

“I came to school on Tuesday,” Meilij said. “I wasn’t the only one.”

Although she didn’t mind the day off from her three classes, she still believes the College could have stayed open.

“I think we could have had classes,” she said. “They need to be more flexible.”