By Haiting Tan Special to the chronicle
After one of the biggest blizzards ever recorded swept through the region, road cleanup was promptly underway. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Hofstra’s campus.
Although on the first day of the semester classes were delayed for half a day to help with the cleanup process, it seems that the half-day made no impact at all. Instead of cars parked in parking spots, mountains of snow took over valuable space. If the snow was not in the lot, it was surrounding the cars, making it difficult for students and staff alike. Students were even seen shoveling snow in an attempt to escape this winter hell. I understand that the cleanup process requires time, but it seems as though the Physical Plant Department has given up on shoveling and cleaning up the mess entirely.
It is already a task to try to find parking spots on the south side of campus on a bright and sunny day, let alone so soon after a blizzard. While the delayed opening provided ample time for the cleanup crew to do their job, it failed to ease the load off commuters or those who had their weekend flight back to campus canceled. Justin Chen, a junior Biology major, has said that because it takes him more than 30 minutes to find a parking spot on the south side of campus, he has decided to park near Enterprise and walk all the way to class instead.
Pedestrians have it the worst of all. The roads were slushed with mud-brown snow making it slippery and dangerous to walk. In fact, I almost slipped multiple times while walking through campus to class, and I don’t think I am the only one who has an issue with this. Even with the hazards to students, the slush was not cleared out until Tuesday. With thousands of us walking back and forth to and from classes, what happens if one of us slips and falls? In that case, whose fault would it be?
The Hofstra Physical Plant Department has issued a map instructing car owners where to park their vehicles prior to snow days in order to facilitate an efficient cleanup. However, many commuters are still unaware that such a map exists, which to me seems to defeat its purpose. I personally think the administration has not done an adequate job. They should not only clear the snow for vehicles but also for pedestrians. The snow should be piled in a more isolated area instead of being dumped onto empty parking spaces, and therefore dumped onto us. With more snow days ahead, hopefully the administration picks up the slack before a major accident occurs.