Alleviating the burden of weather

Students are becoming accustomed to receiving Duke Alerts at the first sign of rough weather conditions, and many began to wonder how long it would be before phones started to buzz as snow fell on Tuesday morning. Wednesday morning marked the second time in February that the University has moved to cancel classes due to dangerous weather conditions, especially considering that freezing temperatures threatened to leave black ice on the state’s vulnerable roadways.

Though many students responded with a mixture of abrupt joy and jaded indifference, these weather conditions pose a serious threat to commuters who live off-campus. Some students and professors reported harrowing road conditions around campus, tragically accompanied with reports of fatal crashes in neighboring Wake and Onslow counties. In Raleigh, police reported 47 crashes between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. As of 9 p.m. Tuesday evening, there were no officially reported automobile accidents on campus, contrary to widespread campus rumors. To many students hailing from more frigid northern areas, the University's sensitivity to the threat of ice and snow may seem excessive, but many in the Duke community are those very commuters using North Carolina roadways—roads that are not well-adapted to snow and ice. Graduate students and professors who live off campus are disproportionally affected by this weather, yet university policy stipulates that the Provost, in coordination with the deans, must make a decision for all schools on whether classes will be in session.

For its part, Duke Facilities and Management has enacted proactive and preventative measures for the onset of wintry weather. In an email to students from last week, Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta commended the efforts of staff working to clear the many paths, walkways and staircases on campus, armed with salt and snow blowers. As a Chronicle article noted earlier this week, university staff often face certain difficulties commuting to campus in similar weather conditions.

We applaud the University’s policy of compensating workers, providing a one-hour grace period for non-exempt staff and offering rides through Duke Vans for those who feel uncomfortable braving the roads alone. Yet, despite these measures, staff members remain dependent on and constricted by the city’s decisions, in particular those whose children attend the state’s public schools. North Carolina school systems are especially sensitive to weather, as last week’s snowfall cancelled school for four days in Durham and surrounding counties. These school systems must account for the dangers of keeping public school buses on icy roads early in the morning and late into the evening. Because Duke’s policies are often out-of-sync with the local schools’, faculty and staff with young children are often forced to care for their kids, even when Duke is in session. While professors have the flexibility to cancel classes or office hours without penalty, staff members do not have this luxury.

To alleviate the burdens of weather on the University’s staff, we suggest a program for snow days in which students can use their granted day off to provide daycare for the children of faculty and staff, free of charge. Such a program not only allows students to give back to the staff that keeps the campus running irrespective of weather, but it also connects students to the those that make Duke home.