Wednesday night into Thursday, we received a substantial amount of snow, which meant all Thursday facility workers were out working hard to shovel the snow on campus. The fact that while we all get to stay in the warmth and skip classes they need to be out shoveling snow all day, away from their children who have off from school and the warmth of their own homes, makes them the most important, and probably underappreciated, staff members. They do a fantastic job with everything they are told to clear and should be thanked often.
However, sometimes I wonder who decides what to plow and what to leave. After big snow storms all of the major walkways to the academic buildings, and for the most part a majority of the parking lots, are cleared very well. What is not always cleared very well is the walkways to the Residents Halls and the walk up to North Campus.
The walk to Sheffield Hall, from the edge of the sidewalk leading to the wind tunnel, up to the door, was a solid sheet of ice. Thursday and Friday students could ice skate to their door (if they were coordinated enough), while the majority just slipped and fell. It was clear that absolutely nothing was done to clear the snow from that section of sidewalk, all snow removal was accomplished by students walking through the space, slowly condensing the snow.
The walk up to the North parking lot was nothing short of a nightmare. The sidewalk around Subway was very well plowed with not a trace of snow on the walkway. Everything else, especially in comparison, was downright despicable. On Friday I walked up to shovel out my car, and I was taken aback by the blatant neglect for students who needed to walk this path. Classes were held Friday in North Hall, athletes had to walk all the way to the gym, and the University was sending the message that they could care less. Once the parking lot was actually reached, it of course was pristine.
The University’s priorities of locations for snow removal are backwards. Whether or not it is true, they give off the idea that they care more about being able to open for classes than the actual well-being of their students. You will never find an iced over walkway to an academic building, but Residents Halls are a whole other story. The parking lot of North will always be clean, and getting there will always be an endeavor.
Snow removal here is perfect where the administration deems it needs to be, and leaves much to be desired everywhere else.