College closes due to extreme weather

School Officials Say That Extreme Weather Conditions Affected Student’s Ability to Commute to School

Butler CC closed campuses due to severe weather conditions last Tuesday and Wednesday which involved unexpectedly low temperatures and a significant snow storm which rendered many of the vehicles inoperable and the roads unsafe to drive on. According to the Vice President of Student Services, Bill Rinkenbaugh, staff were notified half a day prior to the storm and they made corresponding measures on time.

Chinmayee Tiwari and Lal Hlua were students who staying on site at the college when the snow storm hit, and according to their first-hand accounts, the snow storm was severe.

 “Nobody wanted to go to school, not even the professors. So we all just stayed on the dorm,” Tiwari said when the storm hit the area.

Rinkenbaugh explained that there are a few things to consider before calling off college operations. One thing to consider is the sidewalks, the second is the weather, the day of and days following, as bad weather can often worsen the situation. Next, Rinkenbaugh will connect local district school officials and figure out what they intend to do, if more of them are willing to shut down than stay open, then a cancellation of operations would be considered.

“There is no specific timeline since we cannot base our decisions fully on weather forecasts,” Rinkenbaugh said. “There have been instances where the prediction of incoming heavy snow was misinterpreted and nothing was on the ground. When we make decisions, it would be made at 5 am that same day so students who are traveling to school in the morning can see the notification ASAP.”

However, there are more things to consider which often get neglected by the community, students and staff when deciding whether to cancel school. One of which is the amount of time that classes are interrupted and the requirements set by local officials.

“We need to somehow make up for the lost time once the weather clears out,” Jenny Kidd said, a professor of English.

Despite stating that worse weather conditions may result in a closure, Rinkenbaugh also claimed that just the cold temperature alone would have less of an impact on our decision whether to cancel school compared to local district schools since we don’t have students waiting in line to get on buses and go to school.

Finally, when asked if Butler CC had gone fully remote (Unlike COVID) before when inclement weather hits, Rinkenbaugh responded that at present, Butler is reviewing the potential for online learning and remote working during weather-related closures like we have just experienced. We do not have a policy in place now. The core of initiating remote teaching is to understand and realize whether the students and staff are willing and have the ability to go online, if they are not willing or some of them do not have the capability to go fully remote, then other measures must be considered before going remote.