Record snowfall affects campus operations
As Minnesota's winter reaches record snowfall, employees and students adapt to consequences.
With Easter and the end of the semester looming on the horizon, students are also looking for the end of this winter’s record snowfall.
According to Minnesota Public Radio, this winter is the third-snowiest winter for the Twin Cities ever recorded in Minnesota history, with totals amounting up to 89.7 inches. The CSB+SJU community has also been feeling the impacts of the snowfall. It takes a whole team to make sure campus life continues to run smoothly despite the precipitation. The grounds crew, maintenance, custodians and transportation crew all play a part in the snow removal and keeping those icy sidewalks clear after a snowfall. An April Fools’ Day blizzard that left about five inches of snow left a great deal of clean up for many at CSB+SJU.
“It usually takes three hours to remove and get most of the snow cleared out on campus. This past weekend, it took us nine plus hours to get all the snow gone,” said Chris Brake, CSB grounds director.
All the foot traffic makes removing the snow more difficult, so Brake and his team try to get a head start before the campus community starts their day.
“Weather in this state can be unpredictable, so I try to keep updated and make my best guess on what times we need to start in the day. I try to let the team know of the weather and tell them to keep their phone on if they must come in on the weekend,” Brake said.
Many students rely on transportation to and from both campuses for class, extracurriculars and jobs. When the Link stops running or shuts down early, students and faculty on both campuses are forced to adjust plans. On days that the institution moves classes to remote learning, many professors hold class on Zoom, provide an alternative assignment or cancel class all together.
“I learned long ago that I can’t control the weather, but I can adjust my classes. I have made good use of [Microsoft] Teams so that project groups can meet even if the weather is terrible, and that’s been great for busy students who have a hard time scheduling meetings outside of class time,” Communications professor Jeanne Cook said. “But I also continue to build in flex days so that if it doesn’t make sense to move class to Zoom, the content of the course isn’t compromised.”
Being flexible and understanding of the weather is something many people in Minnesota have had to try and get used to. CSB senior and nursing student Alexis Krebbs said that the Minnesota weather has taught her to be more flexible when it comes to plans and schedules changing.
“With the weather this winter, we have had numerous classes rescheduled and clinical plans changed. My professors have done a great job getting us alternative assignments that I still feel are valuable.”
