Fourth Estate/Andani Munkaila
Mason instructs the community to still attend their in-person classes following Jan. 16 snowstorm.
BY JAYME KURLAND, CONTRIBUTOR
Amid unsafe conditions caused by the Jan. 16 snowstorm, the Mason community was instructed to still attend their in-person classes.
“George Mason University administrative offices will open at 12:00 noon Tuesday January 16th, due to Inclement weather. Only classes beginning at or after noon will be held as scheduled,” an email said, sent by Mason Alert.
Mason has seemingly struggled to decide when to call a snow day for years. Tuesday, Jan. 16 was no different.
On Jan. 11, the Washington Post Capital Weather Gang warned of the potential for the largest snowstorm in two years, which coincided with Mason’s first day of spring semester classes. As we all know, this prediction came true. On Jan. 15, weather conditions worsened across the DMV, with area public schools, universities and the federal government announcing all-day snow day closures.
Georgetown University, who had their classes beginning at noon, notified their community at 9 p.m. on Jan. 15 about their online instructional continuity plan and a “liberal leave” policy. On Jan. 16, the area was hit with over four inches of snow, with icy conditions reported in many of the surrounding areas according to the Washington Post. However, despite the conditions, Mason waited until 5 a.m. Tuesday to announce classes would resume in person at noon.
It is unclear why Mason waited so long to address the impending weather conditions. However, by waiting until the last minute, the University inconvenienced students, faculty and staff, forcing some to endure dangerous road conditions. In a campus-wide email sent that morning, Mason put the responsibility on students to “use good judgment and travel safely.” Yet, road conditions, not the driver, often dictate how safely one can travel.
Waiting until the 11th hour led to stressful mornings and quick planning for the Mason community as some may have assumed Mason would follow the closures of other institutions.
For Mason employees and students who are also parents, this meant figuring out childcare for children who are now out of school. For students with substantive commutes, holding class as scheduled may even mean that they miss class due to weather-related traffic or accidents, or in the worst case, risk being in an accident themselves. However, for students living in rural areas, their streets often remain unplowed, making their campus commute impossible.
Among Mason’s core values, the university states “We are careful stewards” at a university where “Our students come first.” However, the decision to remain open was neither careful nor did it put the safety of its students first.
Much of the student population commutes to Mason’s four campuses in Northern Virginia. Of the 40,000 Virginia-based students, excluding Mason Korea, 6,060 students were reported to live on campus in fall 2023.
Given the cost of housing close to campus, living nearby may be too expensive for students. Of these many off-campus students, some live in the suburbs outside of Fairfax, with others commuting from cities or towns outside the DMV, like Fredericksburg or Richmond. Students could have already been on the road when Mason sent their 5 a.m. notification.
Who is harmed by calling a snow day and moving classes to Zoom? In this era, we are all seasoned veterans of videoconferencing and are well-equipped to go virtual if needed. The precarity of not knowing whether classes will be in-person is stressful and frustrating and the directive to attend class in person is potentially dangerous.
Whenever possible, Mason must update its community sooner about closure decisions to give people time to make arrangements. No information was given on the Mason website or social media platforms until 5 a.m. that Tuesday morning through the Mason Alert.
By contrast, on the George Washington University campus advisories webpage, updates began on Sunday, Jan. 14, informing their campus community that the university was monitoring winter weather, leading to a school closure announcement the next day, a day before the snowstorm.
The Mason administrators who make decisions regarding closures need to prioritize the safety of students over the marginal benefits of having classes in person for half a day when the roads are icy, kids are out of school and much of the surrounding area is already closed. Be proactive, not reactive.
