By Aubrey Caraballo
Alexander Garcia, Div. 372, was sitting in the back of the Western bus when he looked at the time and realized he was not getting home anytime soon.
Administrators canceled after-school activities on Friday, Jan. 20 so students could get home before the snowstorm became worse.
Regardless of what time school officials decided to end classes, it still took many people hours to get home.
“I was on the bus for 20 minutes and I still did not pass Belmont yet,” Garcia said.
That was just the beginning of Garcia’s journey home. After about an hour, he finally made it to Armitage where he had to wait again to take a second bus home.
“I waited for half an hour there while it was still snowing,” Garcia said. “I got lucky enough to get on the bus.”
Getting home was difficult for those who relied on the CTA. A group of students waited at the bus stop on 2500 W. Addison for 30 to 45 minutes before the long buses arrived. The long buses on Addison are usually there to pick up students by 3 p.m.
Even when the buses came, not everyone was able to fit inside them. This caused some people to take shelter in the nearby fast-food restaurants. Many students were eager to get out of the cold weather, which left everyone dripping wet and white with snow.
While some struggle to get to school and back during hazardous weather, others have the luxury of driving their cars.
Ashley Sturgeon, Div. 361, was lucky enough to be offered a ride home from her friend Tim that snowy day since his track practice was canceled.
“It probably takes us 10 or 15 minutes to get home on a normal day,” she said. “That day it took probably 30 minutes or more.”
Although driving a car home is easier than waiting hours for a bus, it does not necessarily mean the trip will be safer.
Garcia saw two accidents while he waited in the cold for the bus on Armitage.
“In the first accident, one of the cars slid on the snow and rear-ended the car in front of it,” he said. “A few minutes later, another car slid and hit a parked car.”
Alex Escobedo, Div. 260, did not see an accident, but he was almost the victim of one. As he was walking home, a car that was driving out of an alley did not have its brakes pressed in time, causing it to slide towards him.
“I almost got hit,” he said. “The driver should have been more careful and he did not even apologize.”
Escobedo walks home everyday to his house which is only a couple of miles away.
“I walked home during the blizzard last year,” he said.
Even on foot, getting home took a little longer than usual. He usually takes 20 minutes to walk home [if he is in a rush], but on this day it took him almost an hour.
“I was walking slowly so I would not slip,” he said. “I think the school [should] add salt to the ground [around Lane] to ensure the safety of the kids that usually walk home.”
Walking carefully spared Escobedo the pain of slipping on ice and falling down in front of everyone. Garcia was not so lucky. As he left school and walked down the path towards Popeyes, he slipped on ice that had been covered by the new-fallen snow.
“I kept losing my balance until I fell,” he said. “It was pretty embarrassing.”
The Weather Channel’s forecast for Jan. 21 called for only about half an inch of snow, but the Windy City received closer to five inches.
Students who commute to and from school in extreme weather understand it is one of the downfalls of living in Chicago.
