The first decision of my day is determined in the brief moment I look at my phone in the morning to see just how cold it is outside. Shortly after, I look at how much snow piled up over the gloomy night hours in Michigan.
“How am I supposed to get to class?”
That’s the question that floats around in my head until I leave my house and enter the tundra they call East Lansing.
I could drive, but that’s expensive and parking is limited. I could walk, but it’s really cold. I could take the bus, but I’m not guaranteed to get to class on time.
It’s been a cold winter. I’m sure we’ve all noticed. I don’t understand why MSU tries to limit the amount of people who drive to class.
There are almost 50,000 students on campus, which requires a ridiculous amount of transportation that needs to commence during the course of a day. In the winter, is it safe for students to be standing outside? The wind chill sometimes reaches 25 degrees below zero. How can one reasonably say they want to walk to class? It can take a long time to get to where you want to go, especially for the students who live off campus.
There are many ways that MSU offers public transportation, but oftentimes it is not the most convenient for students.
The bus system isn’t the most dependable choice. How can you expect an abundance of undergraduates to post up in the poorly sheltered bus stop for a long period of time in the freezing cold? Oftentimes, the line of students is so long that not everyone even fits on the bus. They have to wait for another to come around because they fill up so quickly. When this happens, students might be late to class.
Biking also isn’t really the best option. The buildup of snow on the roads makes biking a difficult task because of the slippery surface students ride on.
For those of us who are lucky enough to have cars, parking is still a challenge.
MSU needs to make parking easier in the winter. Reduce the price or add additional parking in the parking garages for students who cannot easily walk across campus in the cold. Heck, even schools north of us offer tunnels for students to walk in. I’m not saying that MSU should take that route, but there are creative solutions to help students get to class more safely.
It has already angered some students. More than 3,500 students joined a Facebook group in protest of MSU’s decision to have school on January 28. MSU had wrongly assumed that students walking to class would not have to be outside longer than 10 to 15 minutes.
Many students who live off campus take much longer to walk to class.
On-campus residents have long walks as well. A walk from Holden Hall to Berkey Hall could take at least 20 minutes in the warmer months; it can take even longer in winter when trying to maneuver snowy sidewalks. Forget the fact that your eyes tear up, eyelashes freeze and face burns—it’s really a fun walk every step of the way.
When do we have to decide between going to class and getting frostbite. Sometimes our health comes before attending a lecture.
If MSU is going to keep classes open when the wind chill is 25 below zero, then we deserve an easier and safer way to get to class.
Ben Stram is a State News staff reporter. Reach him at bstram@statenews.com.
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