Update 6:30 a.m.
According to CSU’s Public Safety Team, the university is open and operating on a normal schedule.
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While open, according to an email sent campus-wide around 5:30 a.m., the Public Safety Team asks for people to use their own judgement on whether it is safe to drive to campus.
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Snow day or no snow day? With Fort Collins’ forecast projecting two feet of snow, that’s the question on CSU’s mind.
According to CSU’s Public Safety Team, they will wait until early Tuesday morning to decide whether to close campus. Regardless of their decision, the PST encourages students and staff to decide for themselves whether it is safe for to make the trip to campus.
“The PST always suggests that students and employees use their best judgment regarding their ability to travel to and from campus and, if they feel they should not travel, to make arrangements with their professors or supervisors,” the Public Safety Team said in a statement.
Pallavi Matta, a junior psychology major, missed her first two classes Monday because of the snow. Matta said that if campus is open tomorrow, she will come because she has a test.
“I know that I am probably going to wake up earlier to walk instead of drive,” Matta said. “I feel better about walking than driving if it’s still like this out and I still felt obligated to come to school.”
Monday, Poudre School District closed at 10:45 a.m., Front Range closed at 12 p.m. and CSU closed at 3 p.m.
According to Sergeant Giddings, the Fort Collins Police Services sees fewer accidents when Fort Collins schools close because less people are on the roads.
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CSU students agree that closing school would be safest but many agree with Matta, saying if campus is open, they will come, regardless of safety conditions.
“It’s not exactly a decision of will you come or not, but if it’s possible for you to come or even safe for you to come,” said John McGrevey, a graduate student at CSU. “ …Based on what I’ve seen from the weather and the fact that it’s supposed to snow more and that it’s already closing for the amount we have right now, with the drop in temperature, I think closing would be the safest bet for sure.
Monday at 11:45 a.m., Larimer County was put on an accident alert and residents were suggested to stay off the roads. Fort Collins police remained busy monitoring the roads and responding to accident calls.
“It’s been a pretty busy day for us,” Sergeant Giddings said. “Fortunately most of the accidents have been minor. Most accidents involved one car and drivers sustained fairly minor injuries.”
As of 1 p.m. Monday, there had been 21 accidents, four of which had injury reports. Around 10:45 a.m., Taft Hill and Timberline temporarily closed because of accidents.
“There were more accidents occurring (than we could keep up with) so we had to close down the road to ensure no additional accidents occurred and we could get enough tow trucks in there to clear out the scene,” Giddings said.
While the police managed to keep up with plowing and responding to accident calls yesterday, Giddings said he worries about the impending forecast.
“Right now, fortunately the road conditions are getting better and the snowfall is lightening a bit,” Giddings said. “We’re concerned about the forecast, that there’ll be more snow tonight.”
Senior Reporter Kate Simmons can be reached at news@collegian.com.
