“We don’t even get that much snow anymore compared to when we were little, and it’s really sad,” said Caden Joel Gilmorton, an 18-year-old psychology major from Freehold. “Honestly, I wish I had the time to still play.”

Gilmorton was among students who headed to campus Feb. 12 following a delayed opening at 11 a.m. after a few inches snow fell throughout the county Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning.

“Why would we open? Why? There’s nobody here,” complained Andreina Chapana, a 19-year-old nursing student from Tinton Falls.  “We’re literally in the lunch room, and there’s no heads. There is also nothing in the parking lot. I’m very disappointed in Brookdale right now.”

“I love snow. I love it. I hate when it’s cold and it’s not snowy,” said Nicholas Formica, a 20-year-old humanities and media studies major from Old Bridge. “If you’re gonna be cold, be cold for a reason.”

“The streets were pretty clear. If anything, I kept needing to remind myself to slow down,” Formica said about his drive to campus.

When it came to dressing for the weather, different students had different stances and habits. Formica tends to dress according to the temperature. “I dress for the weather because a lot of the time, I can’t focus in my classes if I’m cold. I’ll just sit there shivering and then I’ll look around and not want to pay attention,” he said. “That happened to me this semester, and I told myself never again.”

On the other hand, Gilmorton didn’t come prepared to stand against the cold. “Most of my shirts are always cropped, and I’m wearing holes in my jeans. So, I’m not really the wisest, but I’m fine.”

With rain headed to the area, snow on campus was bound to have a short life. However, it was there long enough for students to build a snowman outside the Student Life Center and for at least a few students to throw a snowball or two.