An Open Letter to the Stony Brook Administration:
Valentine’s Day is a day to show people how much you care about them. I wish you had given your students and staff a better Valentine. Feb. 14 brought cold temperatures, freezing rain and driving winds. Schools across the Island had delayed openings or closed altogether. Elected officials were advising people to stay home, unless they absolutely had to venture out.
Stony Brook is a school with a significant commuter population. The roads were treacherous, even the main ones. In addition, there were many lights out, including at least four on Nichols Road. The conditions on campus were not that much better. Sidewalks were near impossible to walk across because of the ice; bus drivers were driving blind because they could not use their mirrors or windows. If these are not conditions that call for class cancellations, then what are?
Correction days are built into the semester schedule just for this reason. During my time at SBU, I have resigned myself to the fact that there are some major holidays for which the University will not cancel class (Veterans Day and President’s Day come to mind). I cannot, however, understand why the University will not cancel class when weather conditions make it dangerous for students (commuters and residents alike) and faculty to make it to the classroom.
I would hope that University policy allows the cancellation of class when weather conditions are as bad as they were. If not, I hope that you will undertake a thorough review of the procedures. Cancelling all classes after 2 PM is not good enough when weather conditions are dangerous in the morning. By the way, I am sorry that I did not get you all anything. After the stress of risking my life to get to my classes, I did not have any energy left to pick something up.
Happy Valentine’s Day
Krystyna M. Baumgartner