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With roads being more dangerous during snowfall, Bluefield College commuters were asked how the weather conditions affect their drive to school.

Dreena Bivona

February 21, 2013

With roads being more dangerous during snowfall, Bluefield College commuters were asked how the weather conditions affect their drive to school.

Snow has been an ongoing problem this month. Each time it has snowed, the flakes have stuck to the ground and gathered quickly. One Thursday in January, it sleeted before the snowfall, causing a layer of ice to form underneath the snow. This makes it harder to keep roads and walkways clear.

Main roads are plowed as regularly as possible and campus maintenance does its best to keep sidewalks clear, but not every road is safe and clear on the way to Bluefield College. Back roads and driveways are less likely to be cleared by the time classes start. This has an impact on commuter students’ ability to drive to campus.

In an effort to make commuters' drives to school safer, Bluefield College has an Inclement Weather Procedure. This procedure allows daily classes to start two hours later than scheduled. This gives time for the roads to be plowed and for some snow to melt before the drive to school.

Students, however, have mixed feelings about whether or not the delays help them during their commute.

"They're actually helpful because by the time I have to go to school most of the roads are clear," said Alisha Abbey, a freshman from Bluefield, W.Va. "They actually help me be able to get to class on time."

Other students like the delay but still express concern.

"Being a commuter, it is much harder getting here," said Terrance Cooper, a junior from Bluefield, Va. "It's more complicated than it has to be. The delay helps a little bit, but it is still unfair to commuters."

Another student’s drive is directly related to whether he can get out of his driveway.

"[The snow] affects me pretty hard. I live on a road that doesn't get scraped by VDOT, said Ryan Dye, a freshman from Richlands, Va. "So some days the two-hour delay helps me; some days it doesn't."

The drive into school isn't the only thing commuters have to worry about. They also have to be concerned about their drive home.

"The snow sometimes makes it a bit harder to get home though," Abbey said. "I got stuck here the day campus closed early."

Being stuck on campus forces commuters to find other means of transportation. Some are even stuck in dormitory rooms until the weather clears. Undoubtedly it is just as difficult to make it back home as it is to drive to school.

"My car isn't four-wheel drive, so the snow seriously destroys my ability to make it to school," said Aaron Arnold, a sophomore from Rocky Gap, Va. "If it stopped snowing, then making it home isn't usually bad because the snow has melted. If it snowed all day then it's just as bad as coming to school."

Commuters who drive farther distances express an even greater concern about attending class on days where it has snowed.

"The past couple of snows has made it extremely hard for me to get to class," said Ashley Peyton, a commuter from Princeton, W.Va. "I even got snowed on campus the day it started snowing late."

Peyton is also concerned about the safety of the sidewalks.

"The campus sidewalks on these days are not safe," Peyton said. Both big snows I fell on ice and skinned my knees."

Though it proves difficult for commuters, professors seem to understand the problems of making it to class when the weather is dangerous.

"Most of them are understanding because they understand the circumstances," Arnold said. "In fact, a week or so ago when that really bad storm came in, the head of my department came into my class and told us that commuters should go ahead and leave for our own safety."

Regardless of understanding, missing class still affects performance in a course.

"Even though [teachers] may understand that I miss class, missing class is hard to make up with lectures," Peyton said. "To make up a lab is both a pain for the student and the professor."

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