Megan Draghi
Staff Writer
Winter snowstorm Nemo shut down the LIU Post campus for two days. The snowstorm, which brought in a total of 11.4 inches, caused school officials to suspend classes for the rest of the day on Friday, February 8. Blizzard warnings started to go off on people’s iPhones in classrooms, dorm rooms, cars and homes the day before at 4 p.m. Thursday’s temperature was mild, but the blizzard erupted the next morning.
The message that classes and events were cancelled after 1:30 p.m. was posted on the LIU Post homepage around 11 a.m., the morning of the blizzard.
Though the Provost office was unable to comment about who makes the decision on whether or not to cancel classes, a representative from the Public Relations Office issued the following statement: “The weather can be unpredictable. The university does track the storms but sometimes we receive information from Nassau County of Emergency Management. We make decisions of school closings with the information in our hands.”
Last semester, Hurricane Sandy and then Long Island’s Nor’easter crippled the campus for a few days. However, a message that school events and classes were suspended the day before Sandy actually struck Long Island. Yet, classes resumed on the day that the Nor’easter was supposed to touch down. In similar fashion, classes and events were cancelled for the remainder of that day as well.
Commuter Nicole Piro, a freshman Adolescent Education major, said, “It would probably be better knowing ahead of time if the campus is closed because it’s great knowing you can stay safe at home and not worry about making a trip to and from school in terrible weather.”
Victoria Brady, a sophomore Psychology major, said, “I feel like we should know ahead of time because for the commuters it’s hard to find out at last minute.”
However, the lack of notice is not only a problem for commuter students. Diana Zysk, a freshman International Business major, who dorms on campus, said, “Though it is easier to deal with going to classes because I’m already on campus, it is still hard to get around from class to class in the aftermath of this blizzard.”
The LIU Post website notified students at 7:15 a.m. on Monday, February 11, that classes were still scheduled for that day. The website said, “We recognize some students may be unable to commute to campus as a result of the storm. Students unable to attend class should contact their faculty member for individual arrangements.”
Paul Kalis, sophomore Business major, said that early Monday morning, “I was unsure if school is opened today because I hadn’t received any news before I was supposed to leave home for school. They posted a notice online at 7:15 a.m., but I had to be out the door by 6:30 a.m. due to the fact that I had class at 8 a.m.”
Andrew Morales, a freshman Business major, said, “I try to assume that Post is opened until we receive a memo saying otherwise.”
No matter what the weather forecast predicts LIU Post students must know that school closings, just like the weather, can at times be unpredictable.
Be First to Comment