This winter season, the University of Connecticut has accumulated a decent amount of snow. When the university cancels classes, other on-campus events and services are also interrupted. Transportation, dining halls and bus routes are affected by heavy amounts of snow.
Even in severe weather, there are certain operations on campus that stay open. These include public safety, residential and dining services, health services, animal care and facility maintenance, according to the UConn Alert website.
“[The dining halls] will always be open no matter how large of a snowstorm that we may get. All our dining kitchen and management staff are essential/level 1 employees and are required to report to work.” Stephen Sharkis, UConn’s associate director of residential dining, said.
The only change that is made among the dining halls are the Late Night units that usually stay open until 10 p.m.: South and Northwest. If the University cancels classes for the day or evening, Dining Services will cancel Late Night and all dining halls will close at 7:15 p.m., according to Sharkis.
There are certain operations that follow university closings and cancellations. The UConn Recreational Center and on-campus cafes are just some of the places on campus that close along with the cancellation of classes, according to the Dining Services and UConn Rec websites. Other places such as the Student Union and the library remain open during emergency closings but potentially operate at different hours.
When it comes to the Student Union during snow days, it is custom for it to follow university delays and closings as a guide to when they shut the building down, according to Sharkis.
When it comes to transportation on campus, the buses run a different route than usual. According to Facilities Operations’ Associate Director of Logistics Andy Kelly, the bus routes follow the weekend routes rather than their typical route.
“Our default plan when classes are cancelled due to weather is to run the same service we do on weekends and breaks. This consists of Campus Loops 1 & 2. There is consideration given to the ability of our drivers to operate safely,” said Kelly.
“The University’s goal is to maintain normal operations to the greatest extent possible,” the UConn Alert website stated. Students are alerted if there is going to be a cancellation by 5 a.m. that day, unless conditions change abruptly, according to the university’s emergency policy.