Here is an email that a concerned student sent. Be inspired and write to the vp and the dean! Vice President Klotzbach and Dean Karney-Hall, I am writing this email in regards to the weather forecaste for tomorrow. The National Weather Service is currently predicting temperatures as low as -13 degrees Fahrenheit through the night, and -10 degrees at 7am, with accompanying wind chills of -31 and -25, respectively. Similar to today, there is also a Wind Chill advisory and warnings that with these subzero temperatures, simply being outside for 10 minutes puts one at risk for frostbite and hypothermia. Along these lines, I have a friend at the University of Illinois-Chicago who did not have classes cancelled and in her walk to class, a walk which she said was under a mile, the got hypothermia in both legs. As a result, she had to spend two hour in the hospital to get her legs taken care of, recover, and ensure she would not suffer any long-term effects. Personally, I did not feel cancelling class today or tomorrow was all that necessary until she told me her story. That made it all real. These warnings are real, the dangers are real. Given that it is a small college which attempts to be a community which can come together, I would expect that Illinois Wesleyan University would look out for its own. That is a part of coming together, being able to look out for one another and be relied upon in difficult times. Thus, I am disappointed when I see IWU struggle to look out for the best interests of its students and staff. Sure, the students live on or near campus, so the argument could be made that we can get from place to place quickly and by following that logic should not be in danger. However, 10 minutes would be a common travel time for students living off-campus or for student who walk slow. Additionally, students are not even my greatest fear. I worry more about the professors and staff who do not live on or near campus. I have worked in a couple jobs here on campus, both during the school year and over the summer. One person I worked for lives in Normal, nearby; while another lives in Downs, which is a bit longer of a drive. But both face the same issues. When temperatures are this low, cars struggle to start, especially if they are older. And if they do, they take a long time to warm up, given that they will have been sitting in -13 degree weather all night long. Then, once they have begun their trip, whether it is across town or on the highway, the weather conditions also lead to a higher likelihood of something going wrong. If something were to go wrong, said driver would not only be stranded - on the street or on the highway - in cold temperatures and would need someone to come help them. This puts not one, but two or more people unnecessarily at risk in conditions which can and do cause hypothermia or frostbite. I truly hope that Illinois Wesleyan University is an institution which actually does look out for and care for its own. Because if that is the case, IWU would cancel classes tomorrow. I am beyond wanting them cancelled simply because I do not want to go to class. To be completely honest, even if we do have class tomorrow, I have already decided I am not going to either of my morning classes anyway. I have an assignment due for one class, which I will email to the professor, but aside from that, I personally will not be significantly affected because I am not going to morning classes tomorrow regardless of the decision either of you make. This email is because I worry about the health and safety of the students who will be walking to class and because I worry for the health and safety of my professors, friends whom I formerly worked for, and even professors and staff who I do not know. I am sending this email because I hope that you care for the well-being of others as much as I do. I am sending this email because we do not need to be heroes every day, some days we just need to make the smart decision which benefits the greatest number of people. And I hope that you both are able to make the decision which is in the greatest interest of the general population of Illinois Wesleyan University. Sincerely, **************
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 03:50:18 +0000
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