Wichita, like much of America recently, has been victim to terrible winter weather. Personally, I blame groundhog Punxsutawney Phil, who seems to absolutely love giving us six more weeks of winter every year. 

Multiple storms have come through Wichita recently, and with them have come dangerous amounts of ice and snow. These storms have created rough road conditions and buried cars, making travel difficult.

With Wichita State’s decision to open the university today, students are expressing frustration at the severe conditions they’re expected to trek through. 

Since the start of January, K-12 schools as well as colleges around the state have shut down due to these storms. And while WSU has closed its doors a few times, the university’s decision to remain open today and during last week’s intense conditions hardly seems fair or thoughtful to its students and employees. 

Last week, I slid across the ice in my small car multiple times on my way to classes and was terrified for the entire 20-minute drive in my car.

By the time I arrived on campus, tense and freezing, the sidewalks weren’t evenly salted.  People were slipping all over the place. Anyone in their cars could not see the lines in parking lots because of the layers of snow. Considering Wichita State is largely a commuter school, you would think the university would be more keen on making sure said commuters would be able to come to school safely. 

Clearly, the conditions were unsafe, so why would Wichita State stay open? 

In addition, last week, students were given no word about the possible closures until early in the morning. An email was finally sent out as last minute as possible that just essentially told students that everything was to remain open throughout the weather. 

In the email, there was a section that stated, “Students with questions or who are unable to safely travel or get around on campus can reach out to their instructor.” If this is such a concern that it felt needed to be included in the email, then maybe the safest, smartest option would’ve been to close for the day or go remote.

And it seems this week, Wichita State is repeating its mistake, opting to make people travel in freezing and sub-zero temperatures. 

It is not fair to students and staff who commute to campus, or those who have to scramble to find child care options on short notice. There are so many factors that play into a schedule, and WSU has shown zero regard for any of them when it comes to canceling operations. 

The biggest issue comes from Wichita State’s inclement weather policy, or moreover, the lack of it. The school is currently going through changes in its policy, which is mostly just an argument surrounding the use of remote schooling. This causes uncertainty whenever Wichita receives winter weather, as there is no firm measurement to go by when deciding to keep the university open or not. For the most part, it seems that Wichita State just hopes for the best when it makes decisions that impact thousands of students, faculty and staff.

Obviously, most students would agree that the university should not just shut down every time Wichita has any sort of weather. But safety should be the school’s top priority, especially when many of the schools also in proximity closed their own doors. 

I just hope more thought is given to the coming weather — and the people who will be affected by the university’s decision.