Spring Break
Students upset about icy sidewalks; student senators announce candidacy
Greg Gentile
Issue date: 1/29/09 Section: News
01/29/09 - Ice and slush has become a serious issue for students who have had to trek through the muck on the University of Rhode Island campus. Krista Simone, a member of the Students for a More Accessible Campus, stood in front of the Student Senate last night pleading for something to be done about the ice-covered sidewalks.
The issue doesn't only lie within the sidewalks, she said. The RIPTA shuttles have been repeatedly late to their stops, causing students to be late to classes. The ability to get from the shuttle stops to the building is nearly impossible even for non-disabled students, according to Simone.
"If [Facilities Services] are unclear about where to plow... I will get in the truck with them," Simone said. "I will miss all my classes for a week to show them."
She added people have to walk in the streets to access Health Services, and that the stairs behind Hope Commons could be compared to "an ice rink."
One of the biggest problems is the inability for students to reach the cleared entranceways to buildings because snow had been plowed on the walkway, she said.
"The housekeeping positions are responsible for a certain distance outside the entrance way to the doors, then lands and grounds are supposed to do the rest," Bruce Hamilton, Student Senate adviser, said.
The Student Senate was split on how to eradicate the issue.
One senate member said, "We go to school in Rhode Island, not San Diego ... We've got to work with [the university] and compromise."
"Keep the good energy going and put the winter gloom aside," senator Drew Yensan said.
Finance Committee Chairman Allen Petit then stressed to the senate that it is its job to make sure something changes with this situation, and not just hope everything gets fixed with compromise.
"We have the ability to question what's going on," he said. "We can push administration and the government to make things better."
The senate offered many different proposals, including having students help in the cleanup effort and trying to acquire the services of state plows.
The issue doesn't only lie within the sidewalks, she said. The RIPTA shuttles have been repeatedly late to their stops, causing students to be late to classes. The ability to get from the shuttle stops to the building is nearly impossible even for non-disabled students, according to Simone.
"If [Facilities Services] are unclear about where to plow... I will get in the truck with them," Simone said. "I will miss all my classes for a week to show them."
She added people have to walk in the streets to access Health Services, and that the stairs behind Hope Commons could be compared to "an ice rink."
One of the biggest problems is the inability for students to reach the cleared entranceways to buildings because snow had been plowed on the walkway, she said.
"The housekeeping positions are responsible for a certain distance outside the entrance way to the doors, then lands and grounds are supposed to do the rest," Bruce Hamilton, Student Senate adviser, said.
The Student Senate was split on how to eradicate the issue.
One senate member said, "We go to school in Rhode Island, not San Diego ... We've got to work with [the university] and compromise."
"Keep the good energy going and put the winter gloom aside," senator Drew Yensan said.
Finance Committee Chairman Allen Petit then stressed to the senate that it is its job to make sure something changes with this situation, and not just hope everything gets fixed with compromise.
"We have the ability to question what's going on," he said. "We can push administration and the government to make things better."
The senate offered many different proposals, including having students help in the cleanup effort and trying to acquire the services of state plows.
