Flashback to December 2008: You woke up on a Tuesday morning during finals week, only to look out of your window and see at least a few inches of snow on the ground. “Surely, classes are canceled,” you may have thought. But no, exams went on as scheduled.

On my drive to school that day, I hydroplaned on the unsalted roads and came very close to wrecking. I finally made it safely to my parking spot and began my walk to class. None of the sidewalks were shoveled, except for small chunks of the sidewalk directly in front of dorms. I saw many students slip and slide and two that actually fell. I was very surprised to see this.

In my hometown, when it snows, the salt trucks are everywhere. Sidewalks are always shoveled and clear, and if there was no way to clear the roads, school was canceled.

Now, fast forward to the present. Most schools around Kentucky are closed, but not UK. Granted, we did actually get a delay this time.

Once again, when I ventured outside into the cold, no sidewalks had been shoveled. I made certain to choose footwear with good treads, and even then, I still managed to slip on the ice walking to my car. The streets near my apartment were covered with snow and ice, with no signs of these roads being salted.

Something needs to be done about the bad roads and slippery sidewalks in Lexington, especially near campus. Shoveling the sidewalks directly in front of the dorms isn’t enough. Students and faculty drive, bike and walk from all different areas in the city; we’re not all coming from the dorms. Many professors even canceled their afternoon classes to avoid the icy roads.

If nothing can be done to make the sidewalks and streets safer, then classes should be canceled. We shouldn’t have to put our safety in danger just to make it to an 11 a.m. lecture.

Jazmin Smith

journalism freshman