The Eastern Back is a yearly publication by the staff of the AS Review. Anything contained here probably isn’t true – unless it is. Happy April Fool’s week!
By Soleil de Zwart
In the past few months, Western students have gone to Twitter to voice their concerns over Western not canceling school for snow days during the months of January and February.
“Western just can’t expect us to cruise in such conditions,” Jonathan Brugger tweeted, referring to his enthusiasm for skateboarding.
On Monday, March 12, Western’s faculty senate voted to purposefully freeze Western’s walkways to ensure student safety for future snow days.
“We hope that by exposing students to icy paths for the next nine months, they will be able to handle next winter with more professionalism,” Jennifer Glasglow, student safety adviser, said.
With the installation and upkeep of this permanent ice rink, the Associated Students budget committee has calculated an increase in the Student Activity Fee, according to Budget Committee Chair Derrick Longhand.
“We’re rolling into budget season right now, so the committee hasn’t been able to place an exact number on the increase. But it will be more,” Longhand said.
Other estimates by Kim Kollbert, S & A fee coordinator, show the cost will at least double the S & A fee for students, according to Kollbert.
Additional costs include a requirement for students to purchase their own ice skates and skating accessories from the AS Bookstore, according to Glasglow.
The AS Bookstore placed an order for a variety of skate accessories that can be attached to shoes, bikes, wheelchairs and scooters, according to Alice Jenkins, bookstore employee.
“All students will be able to slide their way around campus. And don’t forget to get your first aid kits! They come in Viking-blue or clear fanny packs, so you can stay hands-free in case you slip,” Jenkins said.
Glasglow had the ice rink idea for three years, but every year, the faculty senate thought it was unnecessary, according to Glasglow.
The faculty senate voted against the idea of ice paths in the past because they were afraid of student opposition, Faculty Senate President Jane Altruden said.
Recent weather changes and snow severity led the senate to create a committee of students at-large and climate change experts for creative solutions to this problem, Altruden said.
“The last few years at Western have been unprecedented, I’ve never seen so much snow and ice,” Brenden Bragsworth, student and weather enthusiast, said.
Bragsworth is a student at-large on the committee and supported the expansion of the original ice path idea to encompass all of campus. The original proposal three years ago had been for only one path, to give students the option of using the path, according to Bragsworth.
The committee decided it was more productive for all students to participate and for all campus pathways to be covered, Altruden said.