Kaitlin Bradshaw, Staff Writer-
Long after the last class got out Monday Jan. 31, students were seen walking in groups from the Davis commuter garage and academic building parking lots. Bundled in winter coats, gloves and scarves, students had to move their vehicles from residential lots in preparation for the second snow storm of the semester.
“It was ridiculous and sucked,” said Aileen Jodon, a junior Schwartz Hall resident.
Prior to the first storm of the semester, students like Jodon had to move their cars all over campus, some even multiple times.
“I had to move my car three times,” said Jodon. “We had to move our cars from the resident lots to the garages, even the Davis commuter garage. Then in Schwartz, there was a sign saying we had to move our cars back, yet nothing was plowed. After I moved my car to one of the two spots available, the sign was taken down due to miscommunication between Residence Life and the police department, and I had to move my car all the way to the Brownell commuter lot at 10 p.m.”
Amanda McQuaid, a therapeutic recreation major, said she had similar issues at North Campus.
“I had to work in West Haven, so I had to get my car from the Davis Garage, which was a complete slip-and-slide,” said McQuaid.
According to the Department of Environmental Protection’s website, “The average snowfall in January for Connecticut is 12.3 inches,” which is less than what the first snowstorm left in the beginning of January.
“I can’t see over the snow piles, which makes it dangerous and hard to drive,” said McQuaid. “Parking spots are so narrow I have to back out and reverse like three times.”
McQuaid said one of the main problems was the amount of time it took for plow trucks to clear parking lots.
“It snowed Wednesday night and it wasn’t completely clear until Saturday,” said McQuaid. “They should plow early when the snow is still soft. Don’t put it off, don’t have students wait three days.”
Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity members took matters into their own hands and helped dig out students stranded in the snow. Rick DeMatties said he and eight of his brothers set out with shovels the day after the storm and helped other students.
“We got bored and try to do as much service as possible on campus. We saw students struggling to move cars so we helped,” said DeMatties.
DeMatties said that TKE will continue to help students and the Southern community in future snow storms.
“We got guys together and just went on a rampage,” he said. “Facilities was upset with us for digging out; it’s their job, but they weren’t there in time. They could have done a better job, we just wanted to help.”
