Friday, January 12, 2007
Stranded on the mountain
On Wednesday, Jan 10th hundreds of students were stranded at SFU because the heavy snowfall prevented Translink buses from running up and down the hill. The university's slow decision making skills resulted in absolute chaos on campus. By 4:30 pm all buses travelling up and down the mountain were put on stand by for safety reasons. The university did not issue a statement to outline there was a shut down until 5:00 pm so many students were left waiting outside in the freezing, cold temperatures while Translink buses were parked to one side of the road.
When I left campus, the last 135 Bus just pulled away and I ended up with the crowd of other students looking creative ways to get to the bottom of the mountain. My two friends and I decided to call a taxi, but after making reservations and waiting for 45 minutes outside for a taxi, we decided to head indoors for some warmth. The word out on the street was that the pub was open and still operating while all other food service establishments shut down.
When we arrived at the pub, the place was packed with students! I have never seen the school pub so full before.
I eventually got of the mountain, but it was a terrible experience for many students. I decided to trek down the mountain with my friend and halfway down a generous staff member offered to give us a lift down to my car.
The following day I heard that SFU Residence offered to rent rooms out to students for $10 and many jumped at the chance.
SFU's department responsible for making school closers should amend their policies to allow for a more adequate amount of time for students to leave campus. On Wednesday, the university did not issue a closure notice until Translink bus drivers refused to drive any students of or on the hill. The official notice uneffectively communicated the situation students would be facing due to the snow storm. University officials should have made this decision earlier on in the day instead of waiting until it was too late for students to find any means to leave campus.
It is estimated close to 300 students were stuck on campus that night due to the weather. Almost all of the regular buses resumed their schedules with huge delays by around 9:30 pm.
Many individuals, just like me, were almost force to camp out over night at our office until the following morning when transit services were sure to be up and running by then.
When I left campus, the last 135 Bus just pulled away and I ended up with the crowd of other students looking creative ways to get to the bottom of the mountain. My two friends and I decided to call a taxi, but after making reservations and waiting for 45 minutes outside for a taxi, we decided to head indoors for some warmth. The word out on the street was that the pub was open and still operating while all other food service establishments shut down.
When we arrived at the pub, the place was packed with students! I have never seen the school pub so full before.
I eventually got of the mountain, but it was a terrible experience for many students. I decided to trek down the mountain with my friend and halfway down a generous staff member offered to give us a lift down to my car.
The following day I heard that SFU Residence offered to rent rooms out to students for $10 and many jumped at the chance.
SFU's department responsible for making school closers should amend their policies to allow for a more adequate amount of time for students to leave campus. On Wednesday, the university did not issue a closure notice until Translink bus drivers refused to drive any students of or on the hill. The official notice uneffectively communicated the situation students would be facing due to the snow storm. University officials should have made this decision earlier on in the day instead of waiting until it was too late for students to find any means to leave campus.
It is estimated close to 300 students were stuck on campus that night due to the weather. Almost all of the regular buses resumed their schedules with huge delays by around 9:30 pm.
Many individuals, just like me, were almost force to camp out over night at our office until the following morning when transit services were sure to be up and running by then.
# posted by rambaldidevice @ 10:50 PM 
