On Wednesday, Nov. 6, Colorado Springs was hit with a record snowfall. I watched the snowflakes on Tuesday night and thought to myself about how I could enjoy a snow day, staying warm in my home.
However, I woke up to a foot of snow and an alert that said UCCS was merely delaying classes and activities until 10 a.m. — not canceling them. Outside, the snow was falling rapidly and, when I went out to shovel, there was a layer of ice underneath. According to an article by Fox 31, some locations in the city received a foot to a foot and a half of snow.
The campus closures and delay information page on the UCCS website says that “… the institution will remain open unless there is unreasonable risk or danger to a substantial number of students and employees due to unreasonably hazardous driving conditions to campus.”
A previous article from the Scribe also mentions how seriously campus closures are taken, with Kathy Kaoudis, vice chancellor of administration and finance, saying that special attention is paid to UCCS’ many commuter students. Delays happen when the facilities team cannot shovel the snow on campus by 8 a.m., but they also have to take into account the closures of local school districts. On that day, district 11 had a delay, while districts 49 and 20 were closed.
Like many other students, I live near one of the two school districts that closed. Those schools closed for a reason — it was dangerous to require faculty, staff and students in the area to come to school. According to an article by Bowman Law, snow and inclement weather causes 6,500 car accidents per year in Colorado, and drivers have to consider not only their own vehicle in the snow, but negligent drivers as well.
When I called the Campus Police that morning to tell the operator it was dangerous for me to go to class and asked for a revision to the delay, she told me the roads looked fine on campus and that she would send out an email if a closure happened. After that, I tried to call the chancellor’s office, who apparently makes the decisions for closures. They never picked up the phone.
The snow continued to pile up outside my window as I sat in my room, skipping my first class. Like many other students, I hate skipping class. None of my professors had offered to do a Teams meeting, though I heard of other professors making it an option for that day. I thought of how so many classes at UCCS are taught asynchronously and wondered why there wasn’t more encouragement from UCCS to have an option for students to join virtually from home.
I debated whether or not I should risk getting into an accident so I could spend some time in a classroom. When I messaged one of my friends about this, he asked if my life was worth putting at risk for a few hours of class. I’m sure I wasn’t the only student that day tempted to risk my life to get better grades.
The snow was still falling at 1 p.m. when I decided I would try — just try — to get to class. I wouldn’t push it, but if the main roads were cleared, I would see what I could do. As soon as I pulled onto a busier street, I found myself sliding on the road. Someone behind me slid on ice and almost rear-ended me, and when I turned around to come back, my traction was impeded by snow. Many students I know commute from distances farther than me, and it made me wonder what students in areas like Black Forest and Monument were experiencing.
The roads may have been fine on campus that day, but the roads from my house to campus were not. The decision to keep UCCS open and encourage students and faculty to come to campus puts lives at risk. If two of the three local school districts were closed, it’s a good sign that UCCS should have closed, too.
The Mountain Lion Statue on Nov. 6. Photo by Lillian Davis.