I would like to make a pleading request to those with appropriate power at the University to please make a better effort to keep campus thoroughfares (be they for cars, bicycles or pedestrians) better cleared of ice.

The de-icing initiatives were abysmal on campus on Tuesday. I fell so many times that I lost count, and I am left bruised and hurting, as a result. I saw other people fall as well. The ice management was particularly bad around Ross and Bessey Halls. There was at least one sidewalk near Ross that did not appear to have been touched by salt or sand at all during the day on Tuesday. This was the location of my worst fall.

I understand that there has been a salt shortage this season across North America, but there are other alternatives that divert from the negligence of doing nothing. At the very least, you can block off pathways that you are unable to de-ice (for whatever reason), so that people will not be unwittingly exposed to injuries associated with black ice. I know this is already a tactic used periodically for the hill on Pammel, which leads to Hyland.

Failing the ability to appropriately de-ice or block off dangerous areas, then I would recommend that you cancel or delay school. It is a bare minimum of expectations that your students, staff and visitors are able to enter campus without need for concern for their health and safety.

I’ve already broken my arm on campus earlier this semester, and being one of the millions of underinsured Americans, I’m now facing the possibility of bankruptcy due to difficulty paying the steep medical bills associated with the surgical care required for my injury. I can not afford another injury.

Please, as a minimal courtesy, I ask that you place the health and safety of the people who are regularly on campus (particularly those who are paying your wages — the students) in a position of higher priority. It will be beneficial to everyone concerned. Thank you.

Rachel Wilkes

Senior

Linguistics