To subscribe to Ball State's emergency text alert system, visit bsu.edu/emergencytext.
To take advantage of the Motorist Assistance Program, call 765-285-1111.
This time last year, classes were canceled for the first two days of the semester due to a windchill of negative 28 degrees. A year later, the National Weather Service is predicting similar temperatures.
The NWS issued a wind chill advisory for Delaware County, until 10 a.m. Jan. 7, and a warning until 10 a.m. Jan. 8, when windchill is predicted to reach 25-30 below zero.
Before classes were canceled last year, Tony Proudfoot, associate vice president for marketing and communications, said he didn’t know of any time the university has closed due to cold temperatures.
“The most important thing is we understand students make a significant investment in their education,” he told the Daily News last January. “We have a responsibility to continue our educational mission, if at all possible, and we take that responsibility very seriously.”
In the future, classes will take place during bad weather when it is possible to do so, according to bsu.edu.
Joan Todd, executive director of public relations, was unable to comment on the policy of cancellation or make up classes at the time of print.
The university uses emergency text messaging, Twitter and email among other platforms to alert students of class cancellations or campus closures.
Faculty are informed of campus-wide class cancellation the same time students are.
Though university classes weren’t canceled the first day this semester, 5 inches of snow caused Muncie Community Schools to have a two-hour delay.
As of press time, Burris Laboratory School and Muncie Community Schools were on a two-hour delay for Jan. 7.
Ana Pichardo, a communications official of the Muncie Community Schools, said the MCS has no standard of when to close. The decision to delay came from the Muncie Department of Public Works and school officials, she said.
“It all depends,” she said. “It’s all on an individual case.”
Though Ball State cancels classes less often than K-12 schools, commuters still have to find a way to class, sometimes despite car troubles.
The Department of Public Safety provides the Motorist Assistance Program for students, employees and campus visitors, free of charge.
According to the Ball State website, Ball State police officers and public safety personnel can provide shovels, help de-ice frozen door locks, jump dead batteries and inflate tires. They also can provide transportation to purchase gas and unlock vehicle doors.
The service is available to those on campus during the fall and spring semesters from 8 a.m. to 3 a.m. Monday-Thursday, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m Sunday, according to the Ball State website.
People who wish to use the service can call 765-285-1111.
For those who have to be outdoors, the Indiana State Health Department is urging people to take precautions.
“When temperatures drop below zero, it’s critical to stay indoors as much as possible,” said Deputy State Health Commissioner Jennifer Walthall, M.D., M.P.H. in a press release. “If you have to go outside, be sure to bundle up with warm, water-resistant clothing. If you’re on shovel duty, take breaks and drink extra water.”
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