After The Snow

This winter, mother nature hit us with what many would consider the coldest winter ever. While some students celebrated the continuous "snow days" that delayed or canceled their scheduled

classes, many couldn't help but complain about the amounts of snow piling up. Roadways and pathways were accumulating large amounts of snow, making it difficult for students and staff to walk to or make it to classes on time.            

Maintenance assistants, Errol Roberts and John Pettway explained the procedures in cleaning up the snow. Roberts explained that all the supplies needed to clean the walkways were provided for all the maintenance workers. "What many of the students don't understand is there

was so much snow it made it difficult to shovel. Some of the snow was already frozen under the snow," Pettway explained.

Transfer student Debbie Darko recently sprained her ankle and used crutches to get around campus. "I slipped on the leg that was hurt behind my building because it wasn't properly cleaned up."  After a few days on crutches, she had to switch to a wheel chair because of all the strain she was putting on her ankle. "The hills were filled with black ice and I missed one week of classes due to the snow" Darko explained. Maneuvering her wheel chair around the icy paths was not only risky but dangerous. With the help of her friends, she was able to travel up and down the hill.  

Bradley Clarke, a Media and Communications major, believes maintenance did not do a good job clearing up the snow. "I actually slid down the pathway at the exit by the library," Clarke said.

According to the contract signed by the maintenance workers, they are not liable for the cleanup past the Woodland dorms, with the exception of the hill. Areas around the Campus Center, Academic Village, Science Building, and Clark Athletic Center are cleaned up by Marcus Rivera and his maintenance team. They are the ones in charge of cleaning the roads and the pathways along the academic areas.           

Areas along the parking spaces were filled with snow and black ice. Parking was already hectic, but commuters had to work even harder to find a parking spot. Commuter Letichia Carter expressed her difficulty getting a parking spot on campus, "No one could barely get a parking spot because all the snow took up some of the parking spaces."  Due to the lack of proper snow and ice removal, she was late for a majority of her classes.  

Many students who dorm in the Woodland Halls complained about the brick pathway located along the right side of building five. "The brick pathway was and always have been a little dangerous," explained Janice Parrish, resident assistant. The snow, ice, loose gravel, and gorges in the pathway made it hard to walk. "The shoveled path wasn't even on the path for the most part, it was on the dirt" added Parrish. Many students often tripped as they stepped into the dents on the brick pathway. Parrish also believed the pathways and sidewalks were not cleaned to their best ability. Parrish believes that  "there wasn't enough salt on the grounds, the walkways were too small and there wasn't enough space for each party to pass." Walking up and down the hill was not only awkward, but time consuming. Walkways were "like the width of a shovel," Parrish explained. Students would wait as another student passed the icy path. It was like waiting on a line to get to class.                     

After a few days of rain and sunshine, without the help of shovels, or snow salt, the snow began to clear up on its own and so did the pathways. In regards to the overall clearing of the snow, Roberts expressed, "Over all we tried the best we could, we work for the students

and we are here to provide for the students."