Snow emergency shuts down campus

Burke said he almost got stuck in the snow during his drive to campus.

Ball State closed campus for the first time in recent history Monday because a snow emergency had been declared for Delaware County and many surrounding counties, according to Ball State's Web site.

Evening classes were still held, however.

High winds blew nearly 13 inches of snow into drifts that blocked traffic and caused accidents over the weekend, according to the Associated Press. About 17 counties were under snow emergencies Monday.

Sophomore Troy Oliveira said he hoped for some sort of formal notice from the university to notify students of class cancellations.

"It would have been nice if the students would have gotten an e-mail or something of the sort instead of having to look on our own," Oliveira said. Oliveira said he learned of the school's closing through Ball State's Web site.

But most students said they were too happy that classes were canceled to think about how they were notified of the fact.

"I'm so glad," Lindsey Sawle, sophomore, said. "I didn't want to get up this morning, which is probably why I slept until 1:30 (p.m.)."

But Sawle said the entire day didn't go to waste.

"I used the afternoon to catch up on my readings," she said.

Sophomore Melissa Crouse said she hoped to play in the snow.

"I wanted to go pick up some friends and go out and snow bomb each other," Crouse said.

Street crews worked all weekend to clear roads and walkways, said Brian Cole, supervisor of the Muncie Street Department.

Cole said that crews worked 16 hours on Sunday to clear main and secondary city roads such as Riverside, Neely and McKinley avenues. On Monday, crews began work in neighborhoods.

"If we can get them knocked down to be passable, we're in good shape," Cole said.

The street department received aid from the Muncie Sanitary District, Cole said. The Muncie Sanitary District supplied small trucks to help in the snow cleanup process. The street department has 13 large plow and salt trucks and two smaller ones for regular use, Cole said.

Salt has not been used to clean the streets, Cole said.

"When it's (snow) really coming down, you're better off just to plow," he said.

Mike Planton, Ball State's superintendent of grounds, said much effort has been put into clearing streets that run through campus.

"It usually takes us over three days to get caught up after a snow event," Planton said. "That's why we're hoping for 40 degrees and sunny weather tomorrow."

Planton said that landscape services crews spent most of Monday clearing walkways so campus residents could get to dining facilities.