While students at every other school in Waterloo Region got a snow day on Monday, students at the University of Waterloo were told to brave the elements and report to class.
“Our judgement was that it was safe to come to campus,” Nick Manning, the school’s director of media relations, told CTV News.
Among the factors that judgement was based on, Manning said, were that Grand River Transit buses continued to run and that Waterloo Regional Police didn’t issue any travel advisories.
“We want people to recognize that safety is our primary concern,” he said.
Students were unhappy with the closure, with many taking to Twitter to express their dissatisfaction.
On-campus, Karli Kilkus found herself trudging through uncleared pathways to get from class to class.
“I was just going to take a picture of how high the snow was … and then I saw a student fall, and (thought) ‘This is pretty bad,’” she said.
“If the school district and all of the other universities are closing, it’s strange that Waterloo (isn’t).”
Arts student Melanie Garrett started an online petition asking the school to change its policy.
“Every year, the same thing happens,” she said.
“We get a major dumping or an ice event or extreme temperatures … and every year this sort of outrage flares up … and nothing ever changes.”
By late afternoon, the petition had picked up more than 2,500 signatures.
