Tips for Getting Your Student Ready For Winter at Hofstra!

As your student may have told you, it’s getting cold here at Hofstra. We have already had a couple of white mornings. While some students are used to the cold and love it, like Craig, a native Vermonter, others are going to feel father winter’s cold for the first time. Your student is probably wrapping up finals and term papers this week, but as he or she returns home for break or remains here at Hofstra for intercession classes, we would like to remind you of a few tips for getting your student ready for those cold months!

Get Warm Clothes Ready

This is especially important for first-year students coming from warmer areas. The cold can surprise people who are not used to it. Therefore, make sure that your student has all of the winter clothes he or she needs, including: a warm winter coat (maybe waterproof), snow boots, snow pants, hats, gloves, thicker socks, etc. Believe us, it will get cold, fast. Mary remembers when she was a first-year, her mom sent her a pair of battery-powered warming socks; although they were quirky, they were one of the best gifts she ever received. 

Help Get Your Student’s Car Ready

There are few things worse than getting up early for class and finding your car has been dumped on with snow and won’t start! Taking steps to getting your student’s car ready for winter can save him or her hours of frustration later down the road. For a lot of college students, driving is a new endeavor for them. Craig recommends getting the car’s oil changed. Having clean oil in your student’s car will help the car start right up and run smoothly all throughout the winter months. And while you’re at it, do your student a favor and get the car’s battery checked before the winter months hit. This way the battery will have as much juice as possible when your student goes to start it in the mornings. Other items you will want to stock your student’s trunk with before winter really hits include: plenty of anti-freeze windshield fluid, a snow brush and strong shovel, and a winter emergency roadside kit. Also, it’s not a bad idea to get a few cans of de-icer spray, just spray some of that on the windshields and watch that pesky snow melt away. If you have snow tires, go ahead and help your student switch his or her tires to those. Teach your student how to use the defroster in the car properly. And it’s your job to constantly remind students to drive safe and slow when roads can be very dangerous: be a nag! Of course, if possible the best view of winter weather is not from the roads, but at home or in their residence hall reading and studying with a warm cup of cocoa.

Have a Safe Snowball Fight

Encourage your student, especially if they’ve never seen snow or experienced winter weather before, to take advantage of it. Deter them from the winter blues and suggest that they get out of their residence hall or home and take a walk in Hofstra’s winter wonderland. Just yesterday morning, Mary was walking around the north campus. The snow coated all the pine trees and fell so beautiful on the Henry Moore sculpture. For parents, if you find yourself on campus on a snowy day, take a walk. We promise you won’t regret it!

Has Your Student Complained that His or Her Room on Campus is Chilly?

The Hofstra maintenance crew works extremely hard during the months leading up to winter to make sure that the heat systems are constantly working well. However, should there ever be a problem with the heat, make sure that your student fills out a work order request through their portal ASAP so that maintenance can take care of it.

-Craig Camara ('14) and Mary Coleman, assistant director ('09 and '13)