Boston Common transformed into a pre-winter wonderland Friday morning as the first snowfall of the season made its way through the city. About one to three inches of fresh, powdery snow covered the ground, and the trees that were once full of vibrant autumn leaves are now barren and covered in a white blanket. 

As temperatures dipped into the low thirties, students were amazed by the sight of snowflakes falling from the sky. Some were witnessing it for the first time in years. 

“I haven’t seen [snow] that much in my life” Leo Wilson, a first-year said. “This is my second time ever seeing snow, so I’m very happy about it.” 

Much of Emerson’s undergraduate student population is from warmer climate states like California, Florida, and Texas, where snow is rare (13 percent of Emerson’s total undergrad population was made up of students from California, according to college data from the 2019-2020 school year). And others are from warmer countries, like Malaysia, Taiwan, Venezuela, and Singapore, where experiencing a snowfall is something only the mountains get the pleasure of. 

“This is actually my first time seeing snow because I’ve lived in tropical countries [Singapore and Malaysia] all my life,” Sidnee Lim, a first-year international student from Malaysia, said. 

The sentiment of excitement was echoed by many first-years. Many have never fully experienced snow. For Lim, it came as a surprise. 

“I was surprised by the snow smacking my face,” Lim said. “Surprisingly enough, I did not know the snow would be wet, I don’t know why it didn’t just connect for me.” 

Roxanne Chevalier, another first-year student, said that though she has seen snow before, this experience was entirely different. 

“Truly seeing the snow was the thing that made me fall in love with Boston,” Chevalier said, “That’s so corny, but it’s literally something I’ve never experienced before living in SoCal. And I know it’ll probably get so old so fast, but it’s fun to live new things.” 

Students were quick to take advantage of the weather. Many gathered friends and headed out to Boston Common to have snowball fights or take pictures for Instagram to show family and friends the white Halloween eve. 

“I’ll probably play football with my friends,” Josh Fergang, a first-year student, said in the early afternoon. “We’re in the middle of a snowball fight right now, so hopefully I’m not about to get decked.” 

Fergang said he loved the unexpected snowfall to kick off the Halloween weekend. With the presidential election looming and the COVID pandemic cancelling all typical Halloween activities, the snow was a joyous surprise for him to wake up to. 

“This is great, I love it,” Fergang said. “We’ve been living in crazy times recently and having a white Halloween is something different and unexpected, but it’s something that will bring a lot of people joy.”