Winter storm Jonas was one for the books. No matter what kind of weekend you had, there was a deafening silence of joy once it seemed like every other school had a delayed opening or cancelation, but of course, we didn’t. Getting from wherever your home is, whether it is a dorm, apartment, or you commute, was slippery, dangerous and overall time consuming.
After getting past your driveway or outside your dorm by leaning on cars or friends for support, you were not out of the icy danger zone. If you live deep off campus, forget it. Your neighborhood was not a priority and was probably not plowed. Even after coming back from a full day of classes, I saw that the streets near me were not plowed. The motto when we walked to class was “If I fall, I’m going home." The fact of the matter is, campuses were simply not fit to hold classes.
Of course though, when you made your way to the main bus stop, especially on College Ave, there were clean streets and you found out why school remained open in the first place. All the areas around the stop were clear, but as soon as you got off that path and got on one that you needed to get to class, you were met with ice that you might fall on or sludge you might drench you feet in. Isn't it a known fact that most of us live off campus on all the unplowed streets? I mean, I guess we can go to school when the benches and steps are covered in snow and massive puddles everywhere which you don’t find out how deep they are until you are ankle deep in murky snow water, but who knows.
Just looking at the line at the bus stop made you want to turn around and get back in bed. You pretty much ran into everyone you’ve ever met and heard people complaining that if they fall, they will sue. The buses were going slower due to the bad road conditions, so the wait at the stop was longer than usual. A once 10 minute bus ride turned into 30. And even when you finally got off the hot and sweaty bus, most of the time right when you got off, a big puddle of melted snow would soil your socks and boots. It’s perfect to sit with wet socks in class.
If you were a commuter, forget about it. Even if you made the effort to get past the icy roads unscathed, most of the parking lots were full of snow and you were unable to park anywhere anyway. The trip was for nothing and you'd be missing all the information from class for something that wasn't your fault.
Trying to get to the building your class is in was another adventure. People were walking single file at a very slow pace so to not slip and break an ankle.
Sitting in class with wet clothes and feet has to be the worst. Being yelled at for being late and how you should have left earlier is even worse when you're thinking, "Hey, at least I made it here." Sitting in class with soaked feet also leads to a bunch of students getting sick. You might have made it to class through all the ice, but a cold can put you out for another week. And if you have a night class, then good luck. It was even worse when you can't see what you're stepping (slipping) on.
If high schools in the same town feel that it is unsafe to be exposed to these elements and aftermath, shouldn't Rutgers have done the same? We aren't asking to just have days off, but when cars and sidewalks are completely masked by snow and ice, where do we draw the line between what's safe and what's not?
