You wake up and look out the window into a blinding white vista — a winter wonderland. Beautiful snowflakes drift down onto a postcard-worthy campus. Then you remember that you have three classes today, and your winter wonderland instantly transforms into a winter wasteland. You dread leaving the comfort of your warm blankets. You contemplate skipping class altogether. Even the short walk to the Sharpe Refectory becomes a miserable trek. You check your email hopefully, only to find that Brown classes are still being held, while Rhode Island School of Design students can watch the winter storm from the safety of their dorm rooms.
This scenario is becoming far too familiar. In the name of safety, fairness and basic human decency, Brown should cancel classes during dangerous winter storms.
Over the past four weeks, Brown has been ravaged by snowstorm after snowstorm. Icy roads and partial whiteouts have made driving conditions highly unsafe. Roads have become permanently coated with inches of solid ice. And power outages have been rampant across the Northeast. There can be no doubt that this has been a particularly brutal winter. Around this time last year we had Nemo to deal with, but even the great blizzard of 2013 cannot compare to the constant barrage of winter storms we’ve had to contend with this year.
This steady stream of ice and snow has forced schools and colleges across Rhode Island to shut down temporarily on numerous occasions. It is unfortunate but necessary — after all, safety comes first. But one school has withstood the pressure to join in those closures: Brown. This is yet another example of how Brown’s administrators have failed to achieve a base level of common sense and rationality.
It is unsafe to keep Brown open during blizzard conditions — bottom line. I am writing this while we are still in the throes of Winter Storm Pax. Ice and slush are building up on the streets while massive snowflakes are pouring down. Currently, classes are canceled at Rhode Island College, the University of Rhode Island, the Community College of Rhode Island and Johnson and Wales University. Many local public and private schools throughout Rhode Island and Massachusetts have also canceled classes. Yet Brown remains open for business.
This is not the first time Brown has made the decision to stay open during blizzard conditions. On the first day of the semester, a winter storm that devastated all of New England forced Brown to shut down — until 10 a.m. I had class at 10 a.m., so I was unaffected. This is the only time in 2014 that Brown has shut down, and the decision to restrict the closure until 10 a.m. was arbitrary. Were conditions significantly improved between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m.? Speaking from firsthand experience, I assure you the roads were still unsafe and the weather was still miserable.
At that 10 a.m. class, the heating system broke down. The thermometer in the room read 30 degrees — it was literally freezing inside. Several days later, there was another severe bout of snow. The heat was still not fixed and class was still not canceled. Our professor had us walk around the room in a giant circle while he lectured in the middle. Occasionally, we performed a variety of exercises to stay warm: running in place, hopping, etc. It was uncomfortable and pathetic, and I learned nothing during that class. Had the University simply canceled classes for the entire day, that farce would have been unnecessary. Several days later, I caught a cold.
But people like me are not the ones that are most harmed when Brown remains open during dangerous winter storms. It is the professors and the students who are forced to commute over icy roads and through blinding snowdrifts that feel the brunt of these arbitrary decisions to remain open. According to a study by the Sierra Club, approximately 2 percent of Brown students and 39 percent of Brown faculty and staff members commute to school by car. That isn’t counting the many Brown students, faculty members and staff members who commute via bicycle.
Furthermore, there are handicapped, disabled and injured students at Brown who have a difficult enough time getting to class without the icy, snow-ridden sidewalks. When the administration makes the decision to hold classes in poor weather conditions, it does so from an able-bodied perspective. Students who rely on wheelchairs or crutches are disregarded entirely, thus leaving an often-marginalized portion of the Brown population physically unable to get to class. This ableist mentality is inexcusable. Overlooking the handicapped this winter could end up being a disastrous mistake.
Especially for commuters and the physically handicapped, a winter storm becomes a lose-lose scenario. Either they bite the bullet and make the dangerous trek to class, or they stay home and fall behind. One way it’s unsafe, and the other way it’s unfair. Canceling classes solves both problems.
For those overly concerned about losing class time over weather, remember that classes can easily be rescheduled — that’s what reading period is for. But when classes stay open during winter storms, attendance always seems to drop. A study by Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government showed that school closures have no impact on long-term student performance, but absences do. When a student is forced to stay home, he or she necessarily falls behind. On the other hand, when classes are canceled, it levels the playing field.
Some may think classes should be canceled on a case-by-case basis. Several of my classes have been canceled in such a manner. But when classes aren’t canceled University-wide, professors are apt to feel the pressure to hold class regardless of their own safety. Brown should not force professors into that situation.
As I finish this article, the snowstorm is turning into a hellacious downpour of freezing rain and painful sleet. It is utterly disgusting. But there’s no need to describe it further — you had to walk through it on your way to class.
Sam Hillestad ’15 can’t wait for spring. He can be reached at samuel_hillestad@brown.edu.
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