Last week Laramie experienced a round of harsh winter weather, dropping the temperature in the negatives and laying a healthy sheet of ice on the roads and sidewalks for students.
Despite the freezing temperature, multiple student’s vehicles not starting and many taking a fall on campus sidewalks, the University was not granted a day off because of the weather.
Sophomore Tyler Vander Waal was one of the students who were unable to get their car to start in the freezing weather. Wednesday morning after not getting his car to start on his own, he waited 45 minutes to get his car towed to the local Ford dealer. He ultimately had to find a ride from the Ford dealership back to his home and to his afternoon classes. He missed two of his morning classes due to the inconvenience.
“The most frustrating thing is the ice and that no matter how warm you dress you can still feel the cold no matter what,” Vander Waal said. “I watched a girl fall on ice and hit her head pretty hard, so I feel like it’s unsafe for everyone.”
Last Wednesday and Thursday Laramie temperatures were well in the negatives with the wind-chill hitting even lower. The highest temperature recorded last Thursday was 14 degrees Fahrenheit with the wind-chill high being negative 13 degrees, according to AccuWeather.
Cold air is commonly dry air and that can cause trouble for many. Dry air can irritate the airways of people with asthma, bronchitis, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and can cause other illnesses.
“It now seems that grandma was right after all, getting a chill can predispose a person to respiratory infection including pneumonia,” said American Lung Association Senior Scientific Advisor Norman H. Edelman, M.D. on the American Lung Association website.
With a good portion of the United States feeling the rage of winter, the University of Washington experienced more tragedy than the weather last week. Sophomore Harley Smith, 19, died last week after slipping on ice and hitting her head while walking on campus. It was reported she had died initially from the fall, but medical examiners said her death was due to pulmonary embolism a few days later.
Despite the debunking of the fall causing the death, the University of Washington has not stopped focus on making campus conditions safe.
“That doesn’t take away from the fact that we can and should have a discussion about snow days and safety on campus,” President Ana Mari Cauce said at a Feb. 7 news conference, according to The Seattle Times.
With four to five snow days under their belt, the University of Washington continues to be cautious about the safety of their students. A freshman at the University of Washington, Clay Peterson, said he has been frequently receiving emails from the university to stay safe and keep students updated on the icy weather.
The only statement about snow days or weather found in UW documents is found in the “Undergraduate Student Handbook 2016-2017,” which states students are authorized absences due to personal hardships that include “some weather related closure.”
There is no easily accessible policy about snow days or weather-related issues at UW, where freezing temperatures and snow is expected. No email or warning was sent out to students to stay safe despite the scare that the University of Washington had last week and many out-of-state students being unprepared for the harsh weather.
