Bob Allen

Students and faculty of Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vermont, are reacting to this week’s announcement that the school will close later this year. The private 185-year-old college, known for programs in environmental and social sustainability, announced it’ll close sometime after the spring semester, saying the campus and its operations are just no longer financially viable.

Officials with Green Mountain College announced Wednesday it would close after the spring semester, leaving students devastated.

Jessie Casey, 18, a student at Bellows Free Academy in St. Albans, said she will be the first in her family to go to college, and just learned it will be free.