Snow closures at Vassar bring pros and cons

With spring on its way, snow days might seem to be a thing of this semester's past, but the snowfall that began Monday night promises not to let up until the weekend. But in light of this winter's heavy snowfall and its impact on the Vassar campus, some students and administrators have begun to question Vassar's snow day policy. On "snow days" students frequently wake up to the realization that they must attend all classes, but cannot access the post office or bookstore, meet with certain administrators or use the Athletic and Fitness Center on days when weather requires the College to close.

In a memorandum addressed to all members of the Vassar community, Associate Vice President of Human Resources Ruth Spencer wrote that "in the event of difficult travel conditions, the College may delay the opening of administrative offices or close early, while maintaining necessary services for students in residence." Although dining centers and other basic facilities remain open during periods of inclement weather, many students question how the College can be closed while classes remain in session.

Closing the College means that all members of the community who are considered administrators are permitted to stay home. On days when the College and administrative offices are closed, students are still expected to attend their classes, unless individual faculty members choose to cancel them, which is usually not the case.

In an e-mailed statement, Dean of the College Christopher Roellke wrote that he believes the reason classes must still be held is because "we are a residential college … [98 percent of] our students live on campus."

Vice President for Finance and Administration Elizabeth Eismeier, who is in charge of making the final call on whether to close certain parts of the College when weather becomes inclement, explained that "because Vassar has such a large proportion of its faculty living on or adjacent to campus, there has been a tradition of holding classes, regardless of snow."

Conventional wisdom and rumor among students holds that Vassar holds classes for the minimum days possible to be considered an accredited college by New York State standards, but Eismeier explained that she is not "aware of Vassar's situation with respect to New York State standards for days in session."
Eismeier works closely with the Department of Buildings and Grounds when making the decision to close the College, and according to Eismeier, if administrative offices are closed for an entire day, it is "often in response to widespread travel limitations in the surrounding area."

On days when snowfall is particularly heavy, the administration is not the only sector of the College that closes. The Athletic and Fitness Center is periodically closed, causing frustration for many students, particularly in-season athletes.

According to women's basketball Head Coach Candice Brown, this is because the College considers trainers part of the administration and are, therefore, not required to come in on inclement weather days. Without trainers, the College considers it unsafe for coaches to hold practice in case of physical injury.
Men's lacrosse Head Coach Joe Proud sees how coaches who are in-season get frustrated at not being able to hold practice, but also understands that "without staff running the facility, athletic trainers [holding practice] is a liability."

Brown said that she holds voluntary sessions in the weight room and non-contact practice on days when the gym is closed, but that having snow days is "definitely a set back. If we're in-season, there's work to be done."

Arguably the most important resource for Vassar students, snow or no snow, is the Thompson Memorial Library. Librarian Gretchen Lieb stated in an e-mailed statement that although librarians are contractually administrators, they "are able to participate in faculty housing, and that's very helpful in terms of keeping the Library open and help available for researchers on snow days because several of us live within walking distance."

Lieb noted that those who cannot make it in to work at the Library make up hours in other ways, which is easy for them to do due to long weekends and evening hours. In her 10 years at Vassar, Lieb observed, the Library has never been closed for a snow day while school is in session, although it has closed early once or twice. Spencer explained, "Closing the College, which usually means closing the administrative offices, rarely results in the Library closing."

Even though the administration may be able to stay at home, Lieb encouraged a positive attitude towards snow days, pointing out that, "snow days are excellent for reading, and a canceled class is a great opportunity to catch up or work on a research project."