Lucas Robertson
The University of Wyoming has been blanketed with snow and ice regularly since Nov., and accidents related to winter weather have been on the rise.
Due to a recent incident involving a student and UW Police, some faculty have raised concern as to whether or not the University is properly outfitted to handle this naturally occurring issue.
On Feb. 2 a student walking through the quad on the North side of Ross Hall found herself standing on a thick layer of ice covering the sidewalk. The ice caused the student to fall and injure herself so severely that UW Police and an ambulance had to be called to escort her to the hospital.
Once UW Police arrived on the scene to assist the student, they too fell onto the ice. UW Professor of Theatre and Dance William Missouri Downs witnessed the event, camera in hand.
“When I saw this woman fall and the police arrived, and when the police arrived on the scene they fell down, and I took a picture of the event,” Downs said.
Downs said while these situations may be fairly minute for young students, some older faculty members often times find it dangerous when walking across campus.
“I’ve seen so many people fall, and I’ve come so close – all it takes is one bad fall, and my career at this university could be over,” Downs said. “It really makes me wonder if we’re doing all that can be done.”
This issue has come up many times and has been brought to the attention of a number of university administrations. ASUW has been the host of many different dialogues concerning the issue of ice related injuries.
“Last year the student outreach and policy committee was charged with doing some research on the issue of snow and ice removal,” Tyler Julian, director of institutional development in ASUW, said. “Basically it’s a pretty expensive undertaking, and it takes a large number of staff. For a lot of reasons, funding included, there wasn’t really the possibility of adding another rig or making it a little easier.”
The university maintains a stance that because of the unique climate situation of Laramie, there is only so much that can be done. Campus administration makes a point to relay to the student body and employees that any relevant information regarding the presence of snow and ice on campus, and heads caution when trying to travel from place to place, Chad Baldwin, associate vice president of UW communications and marketing, said.
“There’s nothing unusual about this winter compared to other winters, we live in a cold climate,” Baldwin said. “There’s no way to make it 100 percent safe for everybody. The university’s position is significant efforts are made regularly to make it as safe as possible, but there’s going to be slick patches here and there, that’s just the way it is.”
Snow and ice removal is a joint effort between the physical plant, residence life & dining, athletics and custodial services. There is a list of priority spots that are attended to first, with spots checked at a minimum of once per day by proper authorities.
Bobcats, shovels, salt and ice removal solutions are used for clearing areas of snow and ice.
“A university is a place where you’re suppose to be thinking, and a quad like Prexy’s is particularly a place where you’re supposed to be thinking, if you have to walk along thinking ‘oh crap at any moment I could fall down,’ not only do you fear for your safety, but you’re also not thinking,” Downs said.
