Dining halls have removed all their trays to prevent students from misappropriating the plastic boards as makeshift sleds — a sure sign that Jack Frost has made his way down the East Coast to Athens.

Snow falls on Athens Friday afternoon. Photo by WES BLANKENSHIP

The University closed at 3:30 Friday afternoon to accommodate the sudden snowfall, and Campus Transit shut down operations after 4:30 p.m due to the inclement weather.

“As long as the dining hall’s open, I’m good,” said Amy Evans, a sophomore chemistry major from Fayetteville.

By early afternoon, ecstatic students dotted Myers Quad and other open areas on campus, sledding, throwing snowballs, sweeping out snow angels and making snowmen.

Some students found more creative ways to celebrate the winter wonderland.

“We’re making a snow fort,” explained Taylor Parrish, a freshman biological engineering major from Roswell. “We’ve been out here for an hour.”

The snow is expected to lessen after tonight, but a few students are holding out hope for a weekend blanketed in snow and a Monday free of classes.

“School may not be canceled on Monday, but our fort will still be here,” Parrish said.

Not all campus services are suspended until the snow melts. Through rain or sleet or snow, Food Services plans to continue serving meal plan students, and Campus Transit buses should be running their normal routes by Saturday.

“I’m really excited about the snow, but I wish it had snowed earlier. I had a test at noon,” said Michelle Kearney, a sophomore early childhood education major from Tallahassee, Fla.