A mid-winter warm spell provided a welcome relief with temperatures in the 40s this week, but some Ball State students and faculty are still smarting from injuries they sustained during the winter storm earlier this month.
Information obtained through a public record request shows that 33 employees reported falls due to inclement weather during the week of Jan. 31. Nine employees sought medical attention, and two employees needed more than first aid attention.
Three students filed initial case reports for injuries.
Melissa Klemeyer fractured her left wrist when she fell in an open parking lot at Scheidler Apartment Complex. She was one of several other students who fell but didn't report an injury.
"It's really hurting what I'm doing," she said. "It's hurting me typing papers. It's really affected my schoolwork."
Up to six inches of snow are expected to fall in Muncie and North Central Indiana on Friday, according to the National Weather Service.
The weather service issued a winter storm watch for this evening through Friday morning. It reports that roads may become impassable due to heavy snow and drifts. Rain changed to snow Wednesday night, and brief periods of freezing rain or sleet are also expected.
Klemeyer is a senior architecture major who is leading a team of students to design a hot air balloon for a reading space at the Muncie Children's Museum. Even though her position entails paperwork and project oversight, she's still disappointed that she can't be more hands-on.
"[Monday], we were cutting pieces and soldering," she said. "I was afraid the vibrations from the machine would affect it [her wrist]."
Klemeyer was treated at Ball Memorial Hospital almost three weeks ago, and she'll have to wear a cast for another five weeks. On the day she fell, classes were only canceled until 11 a.m. Central Indiana Orthopedia was closed, so she had to wait until the following day to get a cast.
The decision to cancel classes is made by Randy Howard, vice president of business affairs, and other top administrators.
Howard said the grounds keepers' first objective is to clear main streets and sidewalks, wheelchair ramps and curb cuts to sidewalks.
"We simply do not have enough equipment to clear every walkway during significant weather events," Howard said. "Our goal is to have at least one main walkway to each building reasonably cleared."
In the release, students were encouraged to make their own decisions regarding personal safety.
Pam Harwood, associate professor of architecture, said she didn't agree with the university's decision to hold classes, but professors don't have the authority to cancel classes.
"We received a text message from [Klemeyer] ... saying that she had fallen on the way to class and was being taken to the hospital," Harwood said in an e-mail. "This is a tragedy! The surfaces where she was boarding the bus were unfit for walking, and that led directly to the fall."
Jordan Doyle, one of Melissa's teammates in her design class, is a commuter student. He said he didn't go home for three days because of the weather.
"Melissa's broken wrist isn't having a drastic effect," he said. "We find ways to make her as useful as possible."
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