Hello Seton Hall administrators!
It’s been a while since we’ve last chatted. As we write to you on this Wednesday afternoon, we’d wish you a lovely day, but, as you probably already know, the weather permits us to say otherwise.
By the time you read this editorial, the hellish mix of snow, rain and ice will have stopped falling from the sky. However, that doesn’t change the fact that it was a big mistake not canceling classes for the day.
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An ice covered sidewalk by the Richie Reagan Recreational Center.
Ashley Turner/Editor-in-Chief[/caption]
Yes, as a school in the Northeast we are accustomed to much more snow than we received in the Newark area on Wednesday. But no matter how much snow we’re used to, that doesn’t make the icy conditions on the roads and sidewalks any less unsafe.
Seton Hall’s social media team was quick to respond to student’s complaints on Twitter, saying no one should fear any ice on campus.
From what The Setonian could see, this wasn’t true. Sidewalks all over campus were frozen over and some students were keeping extra focus while walking, just so they would not fall on the slippery sidewalks that either had not yet been salted or desperately needed to be retreated.
If you’re going to force students to come into class today, at least make sure the conditions on campus are safe.
This is a huge liability for the school. Not only are students on campus, but so are professors and members of the campus ministry. Some SHU faculty and staff are elderly and a fall could cause a devastating injury.
If conditions on campus were like this, just imagine how they were off campus?
The Setonian’s own Campus Life Editor, Julie Trien, who has cerebral palsy and needs a walker to assist her, was not able to come back to campus on Wednesday night for The Setonian’s production night after her classes. Julie is a commuter and her aid, Kendall Rogers, feared driving at night because of the icy conditions on the road. Julie said she struggled simply walking to class on Wednesday morning.
Seton Hall, which has a large population of commuters, should have considered the terrible conditions of the roads that they were forcing students and staff to drive on.
And regardless of whether a student is a commuter or not, SHU should have done more to make campus a safer place for students to walk across, or it shouldn’t have had classes at all.
The Voice is intended to best represent the collective opinion of The Editorial Board. It is written by The Setonian’s Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor.
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