Letter to Editor by Patrick O’Dowd

“Make like a snow bunny … ” was what the official UK twitter account said this morning, but for myself and most students, the attempt at humor simply wasn’t appreciated.

UK’s complete inability to empathize with the situation that their students and faculty faced this morning is astounding.

Reasonable students and faculty alike do not expect the school to shut down or delay classes every time it snows. In most cases, it’s better for all parties involved for the university to simply remain open and running accordingly.

On days like today though, that simply isn’t the case.

I commute to campus five days a week from Paris, Ky. It’s a 35 minute drive, that is largely just a small hassle.

Driving 1 1/2 hours this morning though, was downright scary. To get to my class on time I leave when it’s still fairly dark, that combined with the heavy snow and winds made visibility very low.

Every road from my farm drive to K-Lot was covered in snow and slush. Few cars dared to go above 35 miles per hour and almost every surrounding county school system was shut down (Fayette County was already scheduled to be closed).

The excuse that the decision to operate on a regular schedule was made before the snowy weather had set in is irrelevant. Situations like this morning demand adaptation and flexibility and announcing mid-day that classes are canceled after 5 p.m. is not adaptation enough.

Not delaying or canceling classes on days like today forces students (and faculty) to decide if showing up for lectures to take notes and receive attendance points is worth risking their safety and the safety of others. That is simply unacceptable.

Patrick O’Dowd

communications junior