We’re in the middle of a major snowstorm, with maybe 6cm dumped on us overnight, and another 10cm on the way. The city has declared a snow emergency, which mainly means you can’t park on the roads so they can get the snowplows through.
I woke up this morning to a flurry of emails on the campus mail announcing that this office or that office is closed due to the weather, and they even closed one of the major food service venues on campus. We’re also not getting any campus mail delivery. I don’t blame them. It was even hazardous for me, a guy who walks half a block to get to work. So yeah, shut ’em down for safety’s sake.
Except, you know, classes aren’t canceled, so students and faculty still have to somehow get here (I’m sending an announcement to my students that attendance is optional today, I’ll post a recording of today’s lecture). I guess the life and health of administrators are more important than faculty & students. Although I suppose you could also argue that that means we’re more essential to the functioning of the university.
Also more essential: custodians and groundskeepers. I noticed that the sidewalks were all cleared well before I got here, and that our custodians were working hard to mop up the mess we were all tracking in.
The elaborate con that tricked dozens into working for a fake design agency
That must be confusing – wondering whether you are one of the real ones or one of the fake ones.
Six inches of snow is a big deal in Morris? C’mon man.
I work for UCLA. Back in 2019, when the Getty fire broke out and there were fears it might head south to campus, admin sent out a mass email telling students and faculty to stay home… and for non-academic staff to come on in to work.
cervantes@2 My thoughts as well. 16cm would disrupt essential services back when I lived in Baltimore, and it’s a rare event for the Bay Area to get even a dusting. But I thought it took more than that to have a “major” storm in Minnesota.
@ 2 cervantes
I’m with you. 6 to 10 cm ? We got ~20cm yesterday and nobody blinked though it made walking a pain. I wonder if the Morris problem is more a danger of drifting and white-outs?
Please give all the groundskeepers, custodians, food hall and other staff present, a nice friendly large fuzzy warm spider to let them know they (that staff) are appreciated. Some of the staff will loudly scream their thanks! Probably wise to include a jar of either flies or students (depending on spider size) as a food supply, since most of the staff will be weirdly unlikely to already have pet mutant spiders, and so won’t be immediately ready to take care of the gift.
@ 4 PaulBC
Much depends on where you live. I have seen US news explaining why snow can affect power lines !! and been stranded in Detroit for 3 days in a snowstorm that when I got back to Ottawa was considered no big deal.
I have seen Bahrain in a mess as they do not deign for heavy rain.
Still, 16 cm in Minnesota?
Yeah, I know. It doesn’t seem like that much, and it was quickly cleared on campus. I think the concern is that this is a prolonged storm, just hanging over us and constantly dribbling snow down over two days.
If it’s barely freezing and windy you get sticky, wet snowflakes that clump & freeze together thanks to wind chill, which then weight down and break stuff even with just 16cm of snow on the ground.
No clue if that’s the case, just saying depth isn’t everything.
Another risk management hypocrisy exposed. Please don’t risk your health by coming in during a weather event but do risk health coming in during a pandemic. In my area, 1 person dies per month in a car accident vs. 1 person per day during pandemic. More people made sick from covid then are in car accidents.
I think the concern is that this is a prolonged storm, just hanging over us and constantly dribbling snow down over two days.
Oh that makes sense though we just had that with 20 or 30 cm impacts. I think is is a matter of where you live. I remember reading that -20 is too cold for kids to go to school in Moscow but in a Siberian oblast it was – 30.
PaulBC @4
Panicking over small amounts of snow still happens here. Thankfully it’s in the 60s today and will be the 70s tomorrow. People are wearing shorts.
Threats to the convenience of those at the top is always taken more seriously and acted upon far earlier than threats to the safety of those at the bottom, assuming the latter is ever acted upon.
Currently I’m still working from home and the “office” in question is about 40 minutes away on a good day. While the weather isn’t slated to get bad until this evening, forecasts claim we’re about to get a lot of frozen rain which just might down power lines. If that happens I’ll have to come in to the office, likely driving through a slippery frozen hell.
Have I ever mentioned how much I hate being a lower class drone working in a soul-crushing, thankless, call-center job that will likely be replaced by automation in a few years?
No, I’m afraid I’ve only heard the abridged version of your litany of complaints. (Sorry no offense intended. I realize that’s kind of an asshole remark.)
@ 15
That’s OK. I admit that I’m pretty high maintenance.
As an active duty college custodian I appreciate the mention. Now, will you people please wipe you f-in feet before your tromp over my hard-worked pristine floors?
@17 wajim
hard-worked pristine floors
We don’t really care about that. I live in Ontario. On the other hand the fantastically manicured Uni sidewalks are a delight. After slogging through 40m deep city sidewalks to hit proper ploughed sidewalks is fantastic.
Still, the immaculate library is appreciated.
Jrkrideau @ 18
Speaking of Canada, do you get a “contact high” now that Ottawa has been cleared and the center is in the process of being cleaned up from the xxx excreted by the truckers?
@10 skeptuckian
Your argument is so flawed I don’t even know where to begin… Car accidents are a lot more likely during a severe weather event than on a regular day. The whole point of cancelling classes (at least in a commuter college like the one where I work) is to keep as many cars off the roads as possible.
Also, do you really believe that it’s the same to tell people not to come to class/work for a day, maybe two, due to weather than to do it for two years and counting because of the pandemic? Seriously.
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