On Wednesday, Feb. 27, we normally would have been sending these pages to the printer and happily preparing to distribute them to you the next day.
Instead, half of us drove through treacherous conditions to make it to classes we found out were canceled upon arrival. The other half was stuck at home in neighborhoods where the streets weren’t plowed, and have now gained an unnecessary absence from any class they missed.
From our small staff, which in no way represents the entire campus population, one employee took the chance of driving through the harsh conditions and ended up getting his car stuck in the snow.
Those of us who made it safely to find parking behind the tennis courts were lucky if we could climb over the giant mountains of snow and ice that blocked the ends of the sidewalks.
This is a community college with a very diverse population. This is a commuter college that draws students from all over the metro area and beyond. A decision that should have been simple was made prematurely and in poor taste.
The Cavalier community let out a groan audible to the entire county when we received that alert text around 8:42 p.m. Tuesday night.
After seeing the Shawnee Mission, Olathe and Kansas City Public School Districts all closed, many student parents had to scramble to decide what to do to care for their children.
Any elderly or disabled person who attempted to cross the parking lots was putting him or herself at risk. Even a professional athlete would have struggled to climb Mount Snowpocalypse to make it inside the buildings for shelter.
Despite the best efforts of valiant workers, this campus was unsafe. Our administrators made a poor decision when they announced the college would be open last Wednesday by failing to take into account the long commutes some students face, family problems that arose and the general safety of this community at large.
If the college is closed, no profits are to be reaped by Dining Services, the Bookstore, C-Store or any other businesses. Naturally, it was acceptable to stay open even if only half the general population could actually make it.
We appreciate the cancellation of classes on Thursday, Friday and Tuesday, Feb. 21, 22 and 26, but on the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 26, our administrators made a selfish and dangerous decision for the sake of pure economics.