Safety in the Snow
(Posted March 4, 2014)
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With the constant snowfall this winter, safety in wintry conditions is a constant concern for the campus community. Jesse Leonard, director of public safety, talks to students about how to stay safe with the snow and ice.
Q: What dangers does snow on campus create?
A: The biggest problems are the slips, the trips, and the falls. It is extremely cold this year and we ask that students do not go outside with wet hair. They should wear something over their hands; mittens are better than gloves. Students should be covering their faces, using scarfs and ear covering headbands.
Q: What can students do to be safe?
A: Students and faculty have been really great about calling us when they notice that there is ice in a certain place, or things like that. A good thing to do since the sidewalks have been very icy is not to be distracted by texting or flipping through your music playlist, but watching where you walk. This minimizes your chances of falling and maybe getting injured as well.
Q: If a student has a car on campus, what do you recommend?
A: At the information desk, we have snow shovels and ice picks that will be available for students to use. We also have ice melt near main doors of the dorms, so if you need to take a cup and melt the ice around your car, go ahead. The Resident Directors also have kitty litter and ice melt that you can use you get your car out. If you call Public Safety, we will be glad to give you a push or jump start your car if you need it. It is also smart to start your vehicle and let it run at least 15 minutes, that way your battery does not go dead from the extreme cold.
Q: Is this the most snow Juniata has received in recent years?
A: We have had a large amount of snow when students were gone for winter break, but this is the most snow we have had went students were in classes during recent years. This is the first time in quite a few years that we have had to use the emergency snow evacuation, where we ask students to move their vehicles so that we can remove snow from student parking lots. South parking lot is a good example of this. We have caught up on with the snow; now we can clean up before any more falls.
Q: How is the snow removed?
A: The snow is removed by our grounds control people. They do a great job trying to stay ahead of the snow and using ice melt on the sidewalks around campus.
Q: What do you do about icicles on campus?
A: There are rope ties where we caution students not to walk, such as by the library and by the gym. These are areas we know for sure that snow will be falling from the roofs, and it would be unsafe for students to walk. We advise that when students are walking next to a building that they be very cautious, so that snow or ice does not fall off the building and injure them.
Marlene Matula '17 Juniata Online Journalist
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Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.