This past Tuesday, Feb. 18, I woke up to a snowstorm, assuming that classes were canceled; however, that was not the case. I did not receive any emails from the University of New Haven canceling class nor did I get emails notifying us of a delay.
The snow was non-stop for a good chunk of the day, so I was surprised there were no cancelations. I understand that we have had many snow days the past few weeks of February—but maybe a few of those days weren’t exactly needed. But because of those days that class had been cancelled, professors and teachers are now behind in their classes.
However, as much as that is true, it was much too dangerous out—especially on the roads—to have class last Tuesday. I was told, and overheard, a lot of stories of commuters having trouble with the slick roads and other pedestrian students slipping and falling all over campus. I also heard a story of a student almost being hit by a car because they were unable to stop due to the icy road. No matter how many times every pedestrian student has said something like “go ahead hit me, it’ll pay for my tuition,” no one actually wants to be hit by a car.
When considering canceling classes due to snow or any weather in general, not only do the students living on campus need to be taken into consideration, but also the commuter community of UNH. Its much easier for a student who lives on campus to walk to a class in the snow than it is for a commuter to drive to it in the snow. Some professors aren’t as understanding about this and expect all students to be at class no matter their transportation, often saying things such as “if I made it to class, everyone can make it to class.” This is especially true for labs classes, and when a student misses a lab it is very hard to make up. When classes aren’t canceled because of snow, commuters can’t just use one of their four absences for certain classes, like a lab. Labs are mandatory, or they must be made up.
UNH should take all students into consideration when deciding to cancel classes and should also consider possible accidents that could occur. Even if there are classes, students are not willing to risk their lives to show up.
