WSU's Response to Snowstorm Fern Attracts Mixed Reactions

Winter storm Fern hit the Miami Valley, bringing nearly 16 inches of snowfall from Sunday, Jan. 25 to Monday, Jan. 26. Wright State University (WSU) cancelled classes and held virtual learning for the entire week. Many students and their families were left with safety concerns about the following snow removal.

Safety concerns with snow removal

 WSU closed school for Jan 26., cancelling all events and allowing only essential workers to remain. The following day, students received an email with the updated dining hall hours.

According to Javan Conley, Associate Vice President for Facility Operations, preparation for the snow removal began days before the first snowfall.

“As weather forecasts indicated a significant winter event, Facilities initiated our standard storm preparation process. As the storm developed, it became clear it would be outside the norm for our region,” Conley said. 

By the end of the day, most major roadways on campus were clear to drive on. However, the safety of students was called into question due to the lack of clear parking lots and walkways. Students, such as Sign Language Interpreting major Monica Turner, noted the lack of accessibility that came to campus life.

According to Turner, the condition that campus was left in made campus inaccessible to her neighbors who used wheelchairs. She also described the walkways as being overall dangerous.

“The one big thing I want to touch on here is accessibility. There are wheelchair users who live on campus [who] are unable to properly get around because of sidewalks being inaccessible. While I was walking near the church next to the woods, I took note of the ramp which was all cleared. Looks good there. Then I walked towards campus and realized the end of the sidewalk right before crossing the street was still covered with snow. There's no way any wheelchair would get through that and a lady in front of me almost slipped walking through it. These are things that get overlooked and I want to make sure I bring attention to its importance. I appreciate the hard work [WSU] has put in with clearing so much snow. However, students' accessibility should be held to a higher priority. It would be great to see paths on sidewalks cleared with wheelchairs in mind," Turner said.

There are also concerned parents, such as Brandy Mazzone-Lovely, whose student lives in Pine Hall, stated that the conditions were not manageable to her student.

“I was on campus housing on Tuesday to give my daughter groceries at the Pine dorms," Mazzone-Lovely said. "Pine dorms are the furthest away from all dining and the campus. Nothing was done. The sidewalks [and] the parking lot was a huge mess."

According to Conley, record breaking snowfall caused a delay in snow removal, but Facilities and the ice and snow company worked daily to fix conditions on campus. 

“Snow accumulation occurred faster than crews could fully clear it, requiring them to repeatedly return to the same areas as conditions worsened. [WSU] works with contracted professionals to plan and manage snow removal operations, and those teams worked long hours in difficult conditions throughout the event. Balancing employee safety, equipment limitations and the need to prioritize critical roads, walkways and building access points required constant adjustment as the storm progressed," Conley said.

Conley stated that while these delays were inevitable given the circumstances, the goal of the team was to make sure that students and essential personnel were able to safely access the buildings they needed.

“Efforts focused on clearing primary roads, entrances and walkways, while also ensuring essential services such as heat, electricity, water and emergency access remained available. Given the severity of the storm, some delays and impacts were unavoidable, but crews continued working as conditions allowed. We are very thankful for the consideration and patience of the students during these extreme weather events. [Students] are our number one customer, and I welcome positive and/or constructive feedback on our response," Conley said.

Housing response efforts

Snow removal efforts in residential areas ramped up on Wednesday, Jan 28. Students received an email via Roompact that highlighted a plan for snow removal efforts. 

“Wednesday, January 28th - we kindly ask all College Park residents to relocate, Thursday, January 29th - we kindly ask Honors & University Park relocate, Friday, January 30th - we kindly ask Woods residents & all residents parked in the pit (lot W),” the email reads. 

The Raider Ride service added additional stops to the front of the Community Center. According to Jennifer Attenweiler, Director of Residence Life, this action, email communication and other efforts put forth by Residential Assistants (RAs), was the main effort Housing played in the snow removal process.

“Our first priority in housing was [and] is clearing pedestrian walkways so students can travel to dining and campus. Our RAs have maintained 24/7 duty phone coverage and have been helping their peers locate snow shovels, deliver space heaters and address general questions or concerns," Attenweiler said.

These were efforts felt by parents like Nancy Schaffer, whose student was deemed temporarily disabled due to a broken foot. Their car was buried in snow and inaccessible to get to, but an RA stepped in to assist. 

“My kid is a master's student living in The Village. They broke their foot recently and cannot get around very well. They have a handicap spot. There was no way they were going to get their car out, so they called their RA who helped them dig it out," Schaffer said.

Others, such as Turner who is a resident in The Woods, said the shovels her community was given were already broken when she used them.

“I got my car out of the snow right after the snowstorm in hopes of avoiding the majority of people. I know there weren't a lot of shovels to go around, and I think students could benefit from having sturdier tools to use. The one I used was broken at the time, I can only imagine how it's holding up after more people had to use it.  I'm overall just glad that I took care of my car right away instead of waiting for the moment everyone went out there all at once, when the university notified students about snow removal efforts happening throughout the week,” Turner said.

Concerns

On Jan. 26 at 3:06 p.m., WSU announced in an email that the school would be operating on a two-hour delay schedule despite frigid temperatures and road conditions. At 9:40 a.m. the next day, WSU announced its closure. Later that day, WSU shared that all learning would be remote for the remainder of the week.

According to parents like Michelle Allison, whose student is a third-year commuter, this was the correct call for the safety of students, but the call should have been made earlier than it was.

“For this particular snowstorm, I think that the university made the right decision. I just wish that there was maybe a decision made a little bit sooner, especially because, you know, students that were home, such as mine, that's like an hour away, and I'm sure, like many, students may be driving a car that was handed down from a parent, perhaps thinking about all of those factors. I just wish that they did make a decision just to tab it sooner, so that students and parents were not worried about safety issues and also worried about classes and maybe even providing a virtual option," Allison said.

Overall, opinions on WSU’s response to winter storm Fern were mixed. Some felt that the school took necessary steps, while others feel that more should be done if any other large snowstorms hit in the future.