Monday classes haven’t been able to catch a break recently. Night classes were cancelled due to inclement weather on Monday, Feb. 15, and the University of New Haven cancelled all classes last Monday, Feb. 8, due to the snow storm.
(Chariot Yearbook photo)
The first of many notifications from Monday, Feb. 8’s storm, was sent out at 2:35 a.m., informing students, faculty, and non-essential staff that the University would have a late start and would be opening at noon. The next notification was sent at 8 a.m., informing the student body that the continuation of night classes were yet to be determined, and finally, a little after 10 a.m., the news was sent that all classes for the remainder of the day would be cancelled.
Students and faculty received notifications and messages in large volumes due to a temporary cellular carrier outage from outside of the University’s control, according to Ronald Quagliani, Emergency Management Director.
Quagliani is also in charge of making the call on whether or not to cancel classes due to weather.
“I think it’s great that we are notified about what’s going on on campus, but it was a bit much,” Joyce Lai said, who received eight text messages and one phone call.
Maria Vlahos received eight texts, one phone call, one voicemail and eight emails. Other students were spamming social media with complaints about receiving an abundance of notifications due to this outage.
There is more work being put into the notification system that students rejoice in receiving than meets the eye.
So what’s the process like to determine if classes will be canceled? It goes something like this: Quagliani consults with various internal and external partners to review the storm forecast and track the radar, as well as works with State and local officials to determine roadway conditions.
Among the others involved in the process are the UNH campus police, Director of Facilities, area colleges, Provost’s Office, Campus Shuttle provider, and the City of West Haven Public Works.
Spring semester means snow, and snow means cancelled classes. By this time last year, there were already three more snow days with classes cancelled or a delayed start.
The most snow that the University has accumulated in one day during 2016 has been 12 inches, on Saturday, Jan. 23.
“Based on the past several years, I don’t think we are done yet for this winter,” said Quagliani.
