By Phillip Lentsch–
The week of Jan. 18 saw three days of no school – one due to MLK Day, the other two because of snow.
For many students, this week signified a time to relax and unwind; because of the unpredictable weather, U of L’s administration decided it was best to not risk student and faculty safety by making them travel to campus.
Wednesday, Jan. 20 was the first snow day of the 2015-16 school year for U of L. Several schools and workplaces closed their doors for the day after about two inches of snow hit the city of Louisville around 5 a.m.
According to John Drees, Director of Communications for the Belknap Campus, it was merely an issue of public safety.
“We called school off mainly because of the timing of the snow,” said Drees. “There was no chance to get the sidewalks and parking lots on campus cleared in order for students to safely arrive to class.”
While U of L operated on a normal schedule on Thursday, Jan. 21, the day after saw the beginning of Storm Jonas – an enormous blizzard that rocked the East Coast for the entirety of Friday, Jan. 22. On Thursday night, U of L officials convened to assess the risk of sending students to class for Friday. They ultimately decided the road conditions would be far too hazardous.
U of L CFO/COO Harlan Sands and interim provost Neville Pinto were part of the administration that decided to call off school again. President Ramsey is usually briefed on snow day decisions, but it is unclear if he was involved in this decision.
Once again, Drees reported the decision was made “based on student and employee safety.”
Friday’s cancellation was seen as an opportunity for many U of L students to take their minds off school. Despite Louisville accumulating up to six inches of snow in some areas, many did everything they could to make this most recent snow day worthwhile.
“On Friday, I went to Paoli Peaks with a bunch of my fraternity brothers for college night. The roads weren’t too bad, and the slopes were open until 3 a.m., so it was a pretty good time,” said sophomore Jake Fooks.
For others, the snow days were merely a chance to catch up on sleep and class.
“The snow days were hardly days off for me,” said sophomore X’Zashea Lawson-Mayes. “I enjoyed sleeping in, but I still did homework and worked on things for the International Fashion Show this week.”
Overall, this past week was lacked a clear rhythm due to the multiple off-days U of L had. While campus will be cleared of a majority of the snow that hit prior to the weekend, this week could prove to be a challenge for those trying to get back in the routine of a normal work week.
