The Pacer

Issue date: 2/6/07 Section: Campus News

Media Credit: Karen Langdon/The Pacer

There was a lot of waiting, hoping, wishing and more waiting.

The rejection was inevitable as students awaited the university's decision to remain open during the snow showers on Thursday and Friday of last week.

According to the UTM Student Handbook section concerning the Inclement Weather Policy, the college will "remain open except in the most severe weather conditions." It is in this section that students understand that the decision to close is a decision made by the chancellor, but the explanation for what is deemed "severe weather conditions" is neither defined nor expounded in further detail.

"Primarily, we make the decision based on whether people can move around safely on campus, by using the sidewalks and parking lots," said Al Hooten, vice chancellor for finance and administration.

The information needed to determine the road conditions rely on the on-duty campus police officer calling the Tennessee Highway Patrol's information phone number, the Weakley County Sheriff and the Martin Police Department to get information on the road conditions to the school. Road conditions from the main access roads to the school are all assessed by an officer driving on them, according to Lt. Ray Coleman of UTM Public Safety.

The last time the university closed due to inclement weather was in February of 2006.

After all this information is obtained, Hooten is to receive a phone call at around 4 a.m. in order to get the process started. He then makes a trip to Public Safety at around 4:15 to look at the weather reports and take a drive with an officer.

The next stop is the Physical Plant meeting to get an understanding of their needs in regards to maintaining the safety on the campus property (i.e., sidewalks and parking lots). To get the sidewalks and parking lots safe for students, the Physical Plant employees sprinkle a fertilizer to help melt the snow. Contrary to popular belief, salt is not used on the sidewalks due to its corrosive nature along with the threat of killing the grass and trees.

The chancellor receives a phone call with the conditions and all the information necessary to make his decision at 5 and then University Relations is contacted immediately after so that they can put the final decision on the UTM Web site.

If in the event of a closure, University Relations would be the responsible party to report this information to any local media. At press time, Chancellor Nick Dunagan was unavailable for comment.

Now that the steps have been understood, what are the criteria for school to be closed?

What other universities and public school systems have decided does not present any particular cause for concern. Due to the bus system being used by most public schools, the university does not have to worry about being responsible for student transportation safety. Again, the main priority is that the entrances and sidewalks are cleared of obstructions, according to Hooten.

"Getting here does not play a role in our decision because the roadways are managed by the state. I don't worry about [other universities and public schools'] environments. Public schools have to transport students by bus, which is a large responsibility. We don't have to worry about that," said Hooten.

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