During the first week of the semester, temperatures fell below zero, a power outage caused disruptions for almost a full day and part of Building D flooded from burst pipes. And that was just on campus.
President Riley addressed the incidents at the first spring Town Hall on Feb. 4.
“We have some emergency plans but they are exceedingly outdated. And we were working on them ever since October when this happened before,” she said. “[We’re] working on catching up there. And our electrical system is probably 10 years past its cycle when it should’ve been replaced, and it’s scheduled to be replaced this summer. We’ll see whether that happens.”
The Rocket staff, while divided on some policies, agrees unanimously: cold weather protocol and overhead maintenance issues should be a top priority for administration. But ultimately, mother nature will take its toll.
Cold weather is not an issue, but ice poses a credible threat
Some staff members believe class should only be canceled if the weather is extremely dangerous.
Professors should accommodate students who may be running late due to harsh conditions, but students should also take responsibility and acknowledge that the environment in winter is different.
Students should reserve more time to leave their house/apartment and wear warmer clothes when leaving the house and walking to and from class. If they are worried about their appearance, a scarf, gloves and hat may be more fashionable than frostbite.
Generally speaking, most students should get by just fine given those circumstances (assuming it isn’t -15 degrees). But that does not account for everyone. Students without access to a car or a nice winter coat may be left with little to no options.
Yet, most of the staff feels there is no reason to proceed with a regular class schedule when it’s below zero. This puts students walking, commuters and local residents at risk (especially the way college students drive).
Consider this—you live in Building F, and the Happy Bus has pulled away three minutes before its scheduled time. You don’t have time to wait for the next round, so you walk.
Only, your class is in Mckay Education Building, exactly one mile from your location, and it will take at least 20 minutes to get there.
According to HealthPartners.com, it takes merely 30 minutes to get frostbite when temperatures are below 0 degrees Fahrenheit. When it’s below -15 degrees, this time is cut in half.
The weather in Slippery Rock on Jan. 27, a day with normal class, was -12 degrees before windchill. Yikes.
The school says they don’t cancel for cold, and maybe that’s fair. But at what point should they cancel for ice?
Maintenance does their best to salt every sidewalk, but it can be hard to keep up. Plus, that’s just on campus, not accounting for students and faculty traveling sometimes from an hour away. And knowing the Western Pennsylvanian climate, 30 miles can make quite the difference.
What about the commuters, both professors and students?
One of our very own staff members received a concussion from slipping in the parking lot at Pine Glenn Apartments. Another could not make it to an exam one day because their car door was frozen shut.
The Ivy apartment complex is covered in ice constantly. The salt trucks have shown up once in recent memory and only reached the roads and part of the parking lots.
A staff member’s roommate reported seeing someone slip on the Ivy sidewalk last week. Before he could even try to help, they fell again while trying to stand up.
The issue is extreme for able-bodied students, and far worse for those with mobility issues.
Given that SRU is very commuter focused, it seems negligent to ignore icy road conditions. Some professors commute from places like Erie, where conditions are bound to be worse.
If the roads are too bad for Slippery Rock High School to be in session, then we should not be forced to go to class either. Staff members reported seeing at least five accidents just this semester due to icy conditions.
In general, professors seem to be understanding if conditions bar you from going to class. Especially considering many travel nearly an hour, if not further, to reach campuses. Yet, this is not a university wide policy.
We don’t blame the administration for not cancelling or delaying in cold weather. But if they stick with this “when hell freezes over” cancellation policy, they should realize that at this rate, it really might.
