Scribe article: Will UB extend school?

Will UB be extending school due to recent weather?

BY: CHRIS HOGAN

Managing News Editor

            Since the spring 2011 semester started, there has been a lot of confusion and stress among the University’s students and faculty. On three different occasions, UB has either delayed or closed the due to the inclement weather and has affected classes and activities around campus.

            So the question remands: What is UB going to with the days that were affected by the snow? Associate Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Hans van der Giessen stated the following via email regarding the university’s resolution about the matter.

            “No decision has been made, but it is on the University Senate’s agenda next week,” van der Giessen stated. 

            There is a process that goes into the decision making about whether to cancel or delay the start of the school day due to any circumstances there may be. George Estrada, the Vice President of Facilities is the person that takes a lot of responsibility in the process in deciding whether to postpone or rescind the school day. He mentions that protection of the community is the first factor that goes into the conclusion they make.

            “The challenges that we faced on a campus are primarily pedestrian safety,” Estrada said. “When we delay or cancel school it is all based on us being comfortable that students can come on campus or come out of their residential buildings and walk safely to go where they need to for classes.”

 Estrada mentions around 4:00- 5:00 AM that morning he first communicates with the security office to find out the safety of the nearby roads and parking lots. Then the security office talk with all of the building monitors who reports on the conditions to get in and out of the building. Afterwards, he talks with the buildings and grounds department by 5 AM and determines with them how long it will take for the campus to do fully safe for everyone. Once an assumption is made, Estrada then reports his findings to Provost van der Giessen, who makes the final verdict based on a safety perspective and the academic impact.

“We really base everything on how long it will take our maintenance department to have the campus safe for people to arrive,” Estrada said. “We prefer just to try to do a delay because when we do a cancelation, it is a major disruption to many classes.”

Commuters are also impacted by the delays including Senior Erin Lynch, who commutes from the Black Rock section of Bridgeport, feels that there is an inconvenience with the lack of preparation in safety and communication.

“The commute on average is about 10 minutes from my house and the struggle with this weather is the lack of the city sanding and blowing the roads,” Lynch said. “I wish the school took the commuters into a better consideration when delaying class.”

Estrada acknowledges that nothing new was learned from the process but knows that everyone should be praised for a strong commitment during these tough times.

           “What we really learned is not anything new from it but what we have is just a new appreciation for being prepared by having contractors and university staff closely coordinated and prepared for to react,” Estrada said. “I would like to thank the students for their patience because we try to convey the information as early and concise as we can.”