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Volume 72, Issue 73,
Thursday, January 18, 2007
News Ice leads to delayed University opening UHPD chief: 10 a.m. start Wednesday the ‘right decision' by KELSIE HAHN
Moderate rainfall and near-freezing temperatures snarled traffic and caused delayed openings all over Houston Wednesday, including a 10 a.m. opening for UH. UH Police Chief Malcolm Davis, who also serves as executive director of public safety, said a committee of UH officials had safety in mind when they recommended the cancellation of early classes. "We decided we didn't want to put people where they had to try to come in during dangerous conditions," he said. "You have to look at what's best for students, faculty and staff." During severe weather, UH President Jay Gogue makes the ultimate decision on school delays and closures after hearing recommendations from a committee including representatives from several departments, Davis said. In this case he chose to follow the committee's suggestion. "We felt that opening at 8 a.m. would be pushing it," Davis said. "It actually worked out being the right decision." Committee members met in a teleconference at 11 p.m. Tuesday and again at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday to monitor weather and driving conditions on and around the University to develop the best course of action. Davis said some ice was reported on sidewalks near the Law Center, the UH Police Department and at the top levels of the Parking Garage and the parking deck at Cullen Oaks. Icy areas were blocked or sanded by University Plant Operations crews as necessary. "There was at that time nothing (Plant Operations) couldn't handle," Davis said. He added that closing the campus until 10 a.m. would give commuting students more time to travel to school safely or make accommodations for work, bus or childcare schedules disrupted by the weather. "It's better to go ahead and open a couple hours late, let those situations get resolved, let the roads warm up and then we start bringing people in," he said. Metro reported Wednesday afternoon that some bus schedules experienced delays around Houston but none in the immediate campus area. Davis added that a later opening also gave University officials more time to re-evaluate the situation and possibly announce an early or full closure of the campus when more information was available. "The computer projections (for the weather) were just all over the place," Davis said. Marketing senior Justin Salinas left for school just after 9 a.m. and said he had no problems with ice or other drivers. "It was actually a lot easier -- less cars on the road," he said. He did mention he saw more accidents than usual, and drivers may have changed their driving habits in light of the wet conditions. Even for students living on campus, getting up in time for their first class in the frigid air was a challenge despite the extra time, pre-pharmacy junior Michael Oluoch said. "It was so cold ... I was so happy I got to sleep," he said Davis said that a full closure would also have required a make-up day later in the semester. "I'm sure everybody would like an extra day off, but at sometime you have to either extend into the ‘dead days' or cut a holiday," he said. Davis said areas farther north and west than the UH campus were more affected by ice, which led to the closures of several schools in the area, including all the campuses in the North Harris Montgomery Community College District. Ray Laughter, vice chancellor for NHMCCD and a UH alumnus, said for those schools, closure was the correct choice. "I don't know that we would do anything differently," he said. "If we saved a life at the inconvenience of some students and employees, I think we made the right decision." Davis said no problems or accidents from the cold conditions had been reported on campus late Wednesday afternoon, and that a delayed opening was the best option for UH. "Being a couple hours late isn't much of a sacrifice when you weigh it against the safety of our people," he said. With additional reporting by John Arterbury. Send comments to dcnews@mail.uh.edu |
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