• Snow crews worked overtime to clear snow and ice from campus. • The extreme cold forced a change of tactics to fight the weather. • Students have mixed reviews of the university’s ability to keep people safe.
As students returned to classes after a snowstorm last week, adaptations to extreme cold and snowfall allowed sidewalks to be manageable, if a little slippery.
Kevin Kenyon, associate vice president of facilities, said despite the large amount of snow causing them to change their removal tactics, there was nothing unusual about the snow clearing approach.
Crews had to use plows instead of power brooms to clear sidewalks because of the snow threshold, even though it took more time.
Twenty tons of salt were used, until temperatures fell below 15 degrees when salt no longer works.
Facilities spent $3,600 on ice melter to clear walks, steps and ramps.
Kenyon said the clearing priorities were focused on sidewalks, wheelchair ramps and main roadways.
“We make sure we have a good access path to all buildings [and that] emergency exit doors [are] clear and operable,” he said. “[Doors] can’t open when there are piles of snow behind the door.”
Freshman Ben Mcintosh thought campus would have been safer if the crews had not shown up to work at all.
“They ended up simply packing the snow down until it was as slick as ice,” he said. “It would have been safer for students had they just left the snow and done nothing.”
Some students complimented Ball State’s road crews, saying the roads on campus were better than those off campus.
“I had no issues with any of the roads on campus,” Gabbi Boyd, a sophomore theater major, said. “The second you stepped off campus, all the roads were still covered in snow and ice. They’re not Ball State’s responsibility, though.”
Grounds crew members had to put in overtime hours in order to prepare campus for the return to school.
A total of 29 grounds crew members worked 26 hours of overtime from Jan. 5 through Tuesday.
During the school closure days, eight grounds crew employees stayed in local hotels so they could avoid the commute home and continue working.
Kenyon said the grounds crew understands it’s their responsibility during the winter to take on extra hours.
“[It] may take additional hours than a normal work schedule,” he said. “They realize the reason they are here in the winter is for snow removal; we don’t do a lot of planting flowers in winter.
Read More
The eyes and ears of the David Owsley Museum of Art
By Madelyn Bracken / 5 days agoThe David Owsley Museum of Art (DOMA) doesn’t only house art. For many Ball State University students, it houses opportunity. Graduate and social media assistant, and former DOMA intern and guard, Taylor Hamblin spent the past two years working at the museum surrounded with possibilities to further her career while at Ball State.
Center for Peace offers academic opportunities
By Meghan Braddy and Grayson Joslin / 6 days agoOver the years, the center has offered a peace studies minor, conflict resolution training and grant funding.
AP: New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 conviction
By Staff Reports / 6 days agoNew York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with “egregious” improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case, according to the Associated Press (AP).
