Looking at weather forecasts and seeing temperatures in the negatives caused an uproar among UW-Madison students who called for cancelling classes on Wednesday. Around 10 a.m. Tuesday, students got their wish.
Effective 5 p.m. Tuesday through noon Thursday, UW-Madison canceled all classes, events and campus activities in response to the below-freezing temperatures. Only essential campus services will be operating, according to a campus-wide email from UW-Madison.
The university’s decision to close came from the latest weather forecast, noting it would impact safety of students, faculty and staff, according to UW-Madison’s News and Media Relations Director Meredith McGlone.
“We've been monitoring the weather for several days in anticipation of a potential need to change campus operations,” McGlone said. “Our practice is to announce any actual changes closer to the time they take effect.”
All Madison schools were closed Monday and Tuesday due to the extreme cold and snow. This combined with Gov. Tony Evers decision to sign an executive order declaring a state of emergency throughout Wisconsin resulted in many students actively encouraging the university to cancel classes on social media.
Starting last night, more than 12,000 people signed a petition calling upon Chancellor Rebecca Blank to cancel classes Jan. 29 and 30. Due to the snow, bus lines are restricted and sidewalks are slippery, which is both “inconvenient” and “unsafe” for everyone on campus, according to Hairu Zheng, the UW-Madison student who created the petition.
“I signed the change.org petition because I believe that considering students’ safety in terms of weather and classes is essential, and messaging this to university administration through an online petition is one way to unite with Badgers on this issue,” said Associated Students of Madison Press Director Morgan Grunow.
Looking at the weather on Monday, students with disabilities and those walking on campus faced difficulties as they commuted to classes. ASM Chair Billy Welsh shared his “disappointment” with the university’s decision to hold classes while in a state of emergency.
“It is unacceptable that all of the burden is being placed on students to make arrangements for our classes,” he said in a Facebook post. “This is an especially unfair burden for students with disabilities and those who do not live close to their classes.”
Yesterday, McGlone noted there is no official policy specifying a temperature in which classes would be cancelled. However, faculty do have the choice to cancel class if they see fit.
Faculty and instructional staff received an email denoting how university staff were “carefully assessing” the safety factors that come with weather-related decisions. Provost and Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Sarah Mangelsdorf noted in an email they wanted to provide “lead time” to faculty, knowing that canceling class would be “disruptive.”
Nathaniel E. Greene, an assistant professor at UW-Madison, shared Mangelsdorf’s email on Twitter. This email was shared with faculty and instructional staff, not students.
“Don't know why they don't share this with students, but here ya go. I don't agree with the policy,” Greene tweeted. “I cancelled my classes tomorrow.”
