For Michigan students, an inch of snow is laughable, but here in Washington, D.C., it’s enough to shut down the city.
Jan. 21 was supposed to be the WHIP students first official day at their internships, but the federal government shut down, causing many businesses and organizations to also call off work or let everyone go home early.
“Our work decides to shut down whenever the federal government does, so I got to work from home,” said sophomore Natalie deMacedo, who interns for The American Spectator magzine. “It was fun to write about Downton Abbey in my pajamas.”
Those who did go to work found that the normally swamped sidewalks, Starbucks, and Metro systems were empty during the morning rush.
“There was hardly anyone going anywhere, it was really weird,” said junior Ashley Wright, who interns at The U.S. Department of State. “The city was strangely quiet.”
Sen. Rand Paul’s office, where junior Olivia Renfroe interns, was one of the few federal offices open.
Renfroe, along with the rest the senator’s staff, spent the snow day giving tours in the Capitol building.
“There were 150 students from a Catholic high school in Kentucky that were supposed to have a tour. We didn’t want to turn them away, and with the fed shut down, there was no one to give it except us,” Renfroe said. “It was a lot of fun, and I found out that a couple of the people receive Imprimis. Some of them were more interested in Hillsdale than the tour.”
However, the snow was not the only thing out of the ordinary. According to The Washington Post, D.C. had some of its coldest days this January. The coldest so far was Jan. 7. The day’s lowly 6 degrees Fahrenheit matched a record low set in 1996.
“I’ve been here for three winters now and this is definitely the coldest,” said Craig Kreinbihl, assistant director of the Kirby Center. “And the problems we’ve been having with the Hillsdale House stem from how cold it’s been.”
The house, like many Capitol Hill townhouses, was built in the 1800s and is not made to withstand this January’s extreme weather conditions.
The week before WHIP students were scheduled to move in for the semester, a pipe burst. To repair the pipe, the water had to be shut off. Unfortunately, Career Services’ Networking in D.C. students were supposed to stay in the house.
“We wanted to let them stay at the house to show them what it would be like to study here,” Kreinbihl said. “With the water complications, we were able to offer them the use of the Kirby Center bathroom and shower. We have contingency plans for everything. That’s the unique thing about being part of the Hillsdale community: we find a way to make it work.”
After repairing the pipes, heat tape was used to protect them from the cold, a preventative measure never needed before.
But the cold didn’t just wreak havoc on the pipes, it also caused damage to the boilers.
Six boilers are used to heat the apartments, but a few of them weren’t functioning properly. They needed to be shut down during the days they were being repaired, which made the temperature in the house drop even lower.
After withstanding the cold a couple nights, space heaters were provided for the students until the boilers were completely fixed.
“Like all houses of its age, it will have problems, but it has a charm and character to it,” Kreinbihl said. “Having this house is a great asset to the college, and it really fosters community much more than an institutionalized dorm would.”
Despite the initial problems with their move-in, WHIP students are embracing their house’s character.
“I love the historical and quaint feeling of living in a 19th century home, creaky floors and all,” deMacedo said.