It all started with me sliding down my front porch stairs, and it would get worse from there.
I live off campus, and my journey to campus to my first class would only water my sprouting fear.
Before moving on, I must explain my visual impairment. From the age of 5, I have been diagnosed as legally blind, due to brain tumor-inflicted damage to my optic nerve, the portion of the brain that processes sight. This damage permanently took a large portion of my vision, leaving me to rely upon magnification devices to read.
Growing up, mobility has never been a piece of cake, although I managed as I became more in tune with my abilities. However, today's venture to my classes was nothing near a walk in the park. In fact, it wasn't even a walk in the ice and snow. It was a stressful disaster that should've been avoided.
Sophomore Andrew Seever stayed home Wednesday, knowing that his wheelchair would have difficulties making the trip to class.
"I e-mailed my professor to tell him that it was due to the weather and he said that was fine," Seever said.
Seever said Ball State has done well to accommodate for his disability. In fact, a shuttle is usually available for him to take on days where the weather is not an insurmountable obstacle.
"Overall, they have done a great job. In the winter, it's just hard," he said.
Senior telecommunications major Brandon Scott braved the weather, only to be met with a thick sheet of frustration.
"I had to allow myself extra time to get to class today. Heading to my first class was an adventure as my wheelchair was driving sideways nearly the entire time," he said. "As the sun came out it helped break up some of the ice, but that caused my wheelchair to almost get stuck. Now in the evening, with snow falling again, the sidewalks are worse than anytime during the day.
"I do not feel the sidewalks were plowed very well at all. There were very deep pockets of snow and ice that would cause my chair to get stuck."
My first few steps on campus seemed promising. I could see pieces of drenched sidewalk scattered amid chunks of ice and snow, but as I kept walking, I slowly discovered that my 12-minute walk to North Quad was going to stress me more than any class.
Walking to class, I slid several times, every time catching my balance before I hit the wet slush below. I slowly began to realize that certain areas of the sidewalk, near the road, were indistinguishable to me. In other words, I could not tell where the sidewalk's edge met the curb of the road. Once I realized this fact, about halfway down Neely Avenue, the remainder of my walk was a nightmare.
I soon realized I couldn't really tell where the sidewalk was at all, aside from the scattered patches of pavement that were most often temporary. At this point, I gave up on staying to the old beaten path. Nearing North Quad, I walked the bricked sidewalk down McKinley Avenue, slipping a few more times, before coming to the realization that no sidewalk was really any better than the other. But finally, I reached the Scramble Light, and boy, was I grateful.
Canceling classes would have been a good answer, considering that two of my classes were already canceled. Making clearly visible pathways could have muffled the clamor, too.
Scott believes despite classes still being held after 11 a.m., many students declared their own personal snow days, and for a good reason.
"I do think classes should've been cancelled today because all of my classes were practically empty from people not wanting to risk their safety," he said. Also if the University of Wisconsin, which knows how to handle winter weather, closes down, I think a school that is not as well prepared for it should close, too."
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