Culture After snow melted, igloo remains: Galloway builds new home

By Cassandra DeVries Collegian Freelancer

A 12-foot-wide igloo appeared on the lawn outside Galloway overnight after the snow storm two weeks ago. When freshmen Connor McCormick, Will Deaton, Ty Ruddy, Seth Jankowski, and Colsen Conway were bored Wednesday evening, McCormick convinced his friends to build an igloo, thinking it would be an easy feat.

“We thought that if we built an igloo, it would just be really quick and easy.” Deaton said. “But Connor goes to make the outline, and he just does this giant circle.”

Jankowski also doubted their ability to carry out McCormick’s plan.

“I thought, there is no way we are going to build that,” Jankowski said. “But Connor said that we’d find a way.”

They started by gathering snow in garbage cans and storage bins. Once the bins were filled, the friends stomped the snow into bricks and placed the bricks around the circle’s circumference. The bricks towards the top were surprisingly heavy, requiring one or two people to hold them in place while the others packed them in with snow. Each layer took approximately an hour. As the walls grew, Galloway’s snow supply shrank, forcing the builders to traipse further and further away to make their bricks. By the end of the night, the only snow left around Galloway was part of the igloo. As the igloo slowly developed, many people stopped to contribute or encourage the builders.

“Throughout the night, random people showed up to help for 20 to 30 minutes, even at 3 a.m.,” Colsen marveled.

Some people carried over snow, others made bricks, and most came for moral support. Around 11 p.m., a group of unknown girls brought the builders candy. At midnight, security stopped to investigate, Colsen explained.

“Right as we got the top done, security showed up and asked what was going on.”

A few hours later, the police arrived on the scene, talked to the builders and volunteered to take pictures of the Galloway men and their igloo.

At 1 a.m., McCormick, Deaton, Ruddy, Jankowski, and Conway started on the ceiling and committed to finishing the igloo that night. After a quick trip to Taco Bell for sustenance, the men of Galloway built the doorway, smoothed the exterior, and sprayed the igloo with water to