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Lumberjack, Issue 2, Oct. 17, 1990 · pg 2 Digging .out · by Rich Spicer LBJ staff writer N~v~mber 15th, 1989. A noisy snowstorm blasted the area . with upwards of twenty inches of the white stuff. Alpena Community College was closed that day. Remember when people told you that the college NEVER closed? Not true, according to Michael F Hood, Dean of Administrative Services at Alpena Community College. "Having class can't be as important as the students' safety," states Hood. Anyone who has driven to the campus from a good distance on days when there has been heavy snowfall knows all too well how frustrating traveling can be. · This brings to mind a question. Exactly what is ACC's inclement • weather procedure? It reads as follows: · The · college and the K-12 systeQt will . seek to coordinate plans for maintaining educational services at each · respective level in the event of · inclement weather. The K-U Superintendent will phone the college president or director •Of buildings and grounds and inform them of the K-U decision to close the public schools. The President will make the decision on college cloSlll'e prior to 6:30 a.m.. The announcement will be one of the following: A. ACC will be closed. B. ACC will be open as usual at 7:00 a.m. C. ACC will . be closed until 10:00 a.m. to permit snow removal from parking lots; an announcemnt will be made later by college officials giving further information. One problem in deciding whether the college closes or opens is geography. Northern Michigan weather is very unpredictable. There could be a blinding snowstorm in Rogers City or Oscoda and at the sam~ time it might be clear in Alpena. Because of unpredictable weather, and because conditions sometimes depend solely on location, opening or closing the college is a "tough" call for administrators. On nights when a storm is occurring. Dr. Donald Newport, President of A.C.C., Don Witt, Director of Buildings and Grounds, and Hood come to the campus at 11 o'clock. They receive reports from the State Police, the Sheriffs Department, the County Road Commission, arid the K-12 Transportation Director and Superintendent. ACC's snow day- procedure ---· --- ---· If it is not snowing , but a storm is in the forecast, they consult the weather service office at the airport in an effort to find out when the storm may start. ·. By 2 or 3 a.m. , they make a decision regarding snow removal. Can the parking lot be cleared by 6:30 a.m.? If not, the · college will close until at least l0a.m., and if the snow continues · to fall to the extent that the parking lot cannot be plowed by 10 a.m., the college will usually close for the day. "It's a system of variables," says Hood. However, whether or not A.C.C. opens or closes does not depend solely on the parking lot situation. "We need to know if people should be on the road," states Hood. "Our primary concern is the safety of students and staff." Another unusual problem for the decision makers is night classes. According . to Hood, many students and instructors are part-time and drive to Alpena from more · distant locations. Because some night students work during the day and may have a lengthy commute, it is crucial that a decision be made earlier to eliminate the possibility of stranding a student . or staff member on their way to the campus. If you find yourself in a situation where you have to · decide whether or not to chance the icy or snowy roadways, Hood urges you to "use your own judgement for your own safety." To his knowledge, all instructors are very sympathetic .and if there is an -~po~tant assignmei'.it ori the day you miss because of rough road conditions, there will be no need to worry. "We've utilized the same procedure for essentially fifteen years, and if there is a better one, I'd certainly like to know about it." Hood says students . and · staff can rest assured , "we ; will make the b_e~t decision we · can make." V anDyke editorializes on current by Vicki V anDyke . When driving is involved, winter is a season many of us don't want to face. As the wind grows colder and leaves fall from the trees, the fact that snowflakes will soon fly becomes apparent This leads us to a question. · How is the decision made for . closing college due to indement . weather? Naturally, many students seek this information from faculty members. However, it seems that even from this source, we receive a mixed reaction. Personally I have heard responses varying from, "If you are here and I am here we will have class" to "If the public schools in your area are closed, · don't try to come in." There is . even the response of "If the parking lot is cleared there will be classes." Great! · If you live in Atlanta, you can drive to Alpena, find the parking lot isn't cleared and then head home. In reverse, you may have had the experience of having your car stuck in your own driveway. While the side street you live on in Alpena wasn't plowed, the school parking lot was and you missed classes. Either way you have just wasted money in one form · or another. And i:noney is an item no college student can afford to waste. But there is still the question. How is the decision made? An LBJ reporter was told that the procedure used involved a conference between President Don Newport, Dean Mike Hood · and Don Witt, director of building and grounds. These men seek information · from other sources, such as the state police, the weather service and the contractor responsible for clearing the parking lot. After reaching a decision, local media sources are informed. But, in my opinion, often notification that classes will be late or cancelled comes too late for commuting students. Sometimes notification is not made until 7 a.m .. or later. If students live over an hour away from campus, ( and many of the students live even further :away) and they have an 8 a.m. class, during inclement weather, they are already on the road. Why do the public schools have an announcement much earlier, sometimes by 5 a.m.? Of .students on campus, 57~ The cars of two ACC students are pictured last winter on Bolton road sitting bumper deep in a typical snowfall for the college service area. snow policy are female with an average age of 30. It follows that a large part of the student population . may have elementary age children in the home. . Those of us who have young children are aware that when school is closed, it is due to unsafe driving conditions. So we now have a situation where my children are told to stay home because it is unsafe for them to be on the road, yet I am expected to drive on the · same roads in a vehicle that has less controllability than the -public school buses. I feel there is one more point to consider in this decision · making process. This is that ACC is a commuter college, with the student body traveling many miles to classes. Because faculty members do not have a consistent reaction to inclement weather - some excuse absences and some do not - a student must sometimes decide between points off in a class and their safety. Should we have a policy change with a more liberal approach to school cancellation? . I believe so. But barring that, a consistent faculty policy about absences would be helpful, I feel. l l - I