FSU calls back-to-back snow days

Adrien Gobin / THE GATEPOST

By Bella Grimaldi

News Editor

Framingham State called two snow days this week, canceling classes and shutting down campus on Monday, Jan. 26, and Tuesday, Jan. 27.

Students were notified on Friday, Jan. 23, by FSU Alert of the Monday snow day. The Tuesday cancellation alert was sent to the FSU community on Monday evening.

According to the National Weather Service, Framingham received 18.5 inches of snowfall as of Tuesday, Jan. 27.

According to FSUPD Deputy Chief Martin Laughlin, the decision for the snow days was made by the “snow team” made up of several members across campus offices including himself; Robert Totino, vice president of Finance, Technology and Administration; Dan Magazu, executive director of Marketing & Communications; Ryan Hacker, associate vice president of Facilities and Capital Projects; and Meg Nowak Borrego, vice president of Student Affairs.

According to Totino, the members of the snow team met on Jan. 23 to discuss closing on Monday and on the afternoon of Jan. 26 to discuss calling a snow day on Tuesday.

Totino said, “We have a few external, independent, third-party groups we work with, like the bookstore and Sodexo for dining services, so Michael Newmark [Dining Services general manager] was on the call last Friday as well in case we had to shut down, which we did.”

Kim Galvani, coordinator of Transportation Services, said she was in the meeting to provide information about if the shuttle could run in inclement weather.

She said the RAM Tram does not run on snow days because it is difficult for the shuttles to get in and out of the parking lots and the snow raises safety concerns for the drivers and passengers of the shuttle.

Laughlin said, “We discuss the potential storm, or the incoming storm itself. And then at that time, we come up with a decision like, ‘When should we let students know in a fair amount of time?’”

According to Totino, after this group discusses the decision to call a snow day, he brings their recommendation to President Nancy Niemi and Provost Kristen Porter-Utley.

Niemi said, “The decision ultimately rests with me and a small team of people.”

She said she hopes the decision to cancel shows “that we care deeply about everyone’s safety.”

Totino said, “We hope it communicates that their best interest and safety was taken into consideration.”

Following the alerts, Nowak Borrego sent emails notifying students about updated parking guidelines, which were in effect during the storm, which resources and centers were open and available, and the extension of the spring semester add/drop period to Jan. 29.

Niemi said it’s not unprecedented for the add/drop period to be moved back since it is a date decided by Framingham State, not the state or federal body.

She said the decision was “in consultation with the provost, as the chief academic officer, and the registrar. Not unlike closing the school for a snow day - the decision, I think, ultimately rests with me, but it’s always in consultation with the people who know best.”

Totino said the discussion to push back the add/drop date was held in a meeting attended by himself, Niemi, Porter-Utley, Nowak Borrego, and Lorretta Holloway, vice president of Student Success.

The FSU Alert for Tuesday’s snow day indicated the cancellation was due to storm cleanup.

Hacker said the decision to close campus for the second snow day was based mostly on safety concerns for students living on-campus and commuting.

He said one of the main concerns was having parking lots cleared and safe for students to use.

He added a large majority of the decision to close campus is based upon commuter student safety.

He said it was difficult for Facilities' snow removal efforts to keep up with the snow due to the nature of the snowstorm in Framingham.

“We have a dedicated snow crew of staff members - they’re on-call staff, so they’re called in once the snow starts and will work until the snow is clear,” said Hacker.

According to Hacker, this year, the snow crew is made up of 12 members, “and they take care of everything from plowing to salting, sanding, and snow blowing.”

He said in addition to the snow crew, there are 39 maintainers on staff who helped clear the snow by shoveling and snowblowing.

According to Totino, some members of the Facilities’ snow removal team worked 28 hours straight.

Hacker said, “We know that in the winters, we're going to have overtime costs, and so we budget for that going into budget season.”

Hacker said Facilities assisted students whose cars were snowed in at Maple and Union parking lots.

He said he was at Maple Lot with other staff members helping students get their cars out of the snow. “We had two snowblowers down there. … We helped get a few cars unstuck. We jumped a few batteries that were dead. We like to support our students.”

Hacker added he wasn’t at Union Lot, but Facilities provided assistance to students parked there and sent additional shovels there.

“There was less activity at Union Lot yesterday just due to the fact residents had to move their cars back to Maynard Lot from Maple Lot,” said Hacker.

On Jan. 29, an email from Residence Life was sent to students stating cars parked in Union Lot have to be moved to Salem End Lot between noon and midnight on Jan. 30, so facilities can clear the snow there on Jan. 31.

Cars are allowed to remain at Salem End until Feb. 1 at 8 p.m.

The shuttle service is available to students at Union Lot on Jan. 30 for the moving window. The shuttle will not be stopping at Union Lot on Jan. 31.

According to Mike Miles, campus restaurant supervisor, as an essential employee, it was difficult for him to commute to work.

He added because classes were cancelled, there were a lot of students coming down to the Dining Commons to hang out with friends.

Sophomore Madi Carlson said she had an “enjoyable snow day” because it gave her time to catch up on work, meet new people and go sledding using trash bags.

She added she believes it was a smart decision by the University to call a snow day because “there would have been no way for classes to run with the state campus was in from the storm.”

Carlson said, “I had a car on campus, which was a very interesting, fun, and aggravating experience all at the same time.

“When they told us to move our cars back, it would have been more helpful if they allowed us more time along with more resources to get our cars out,” she said.

Carlson said getting cars out of the snow at Maple Lot created a community amongst students because they were “making jokes and laughing about the situation.”

Freshman Sarah Bashore said she had never experienced snow as an out-of-state student from the West Coast, and her friends taught her how to go sledding.

She said she enjoyed the time off from class to spend with friends and catch up on homework.

Bashore added she thinks the conditions of the sidewalks and road would have made it hard to get to classes if the University didn’t cancel classes.

“They took into account campus safety and that is all I can ask of them as a current student,” she said.

Sophomore Xander Forward said he had a car on campus over the weekend and leaving his car in the Maple Lot wasn’t “too much of a hassle.”

He said most people moving their car from the Maple Lot back to the Maynard Lot took 15-20 minutes because they were barricaded in by snow.

“Without assistance from some of the workers, I would have spent more than 30 minutes just getting my car out due to the plows packing so much snow behind my car,” said Forward.

He added he wished the school had handled the parking lot situation better and had better upkeep of the hills on State Street during the storm.

Sophomore Brynn Danley said the University was “very timely in making sure that all walkways and roads were plowed.”

She said the timeliness made it easy for her to be able to access the Dining Commons.

Danley said she hopes the University will improve the parking situation for future snow days.

“Overall, I think there could have been more time given when it comes to moving cars to allow the snow to dissipate a little before having to transport our cars,” she said.

Junior Diego Abzun Urrutia said he thinks the snow made campus more beautiful and he was happy he got to experience the snow days.

He added he was happy students who don’t experience snow in their hometowns had the snow days to go sledding or build a snowman.

He said getting around campus on the snow days was difficult for him because he uses a wheelchair.

Abzun Urrutia said he hopes the University makes sure the sidewalks are cleared better so students have a safer path to the buildings they need to access.

He added, “I’m not going to complain because the school is doing its best to clean up spaces around campus.”