For the third time this February of this year, inclement weather caused OCU’s campus to close.
On Feb. 27, all classes were cancelled from 11 a.m. on, and almost all non-class activities were canceled as well. Roads were slick, and people were falling in multiple areas on and around campus, according to many Facebook posts on the OCU Facebook page.
“As someone who genuinely understands why officials are hesitant to cancel classes and call snow days, I am extremely distressed as to why one hasn’t been called,” wrote Louisa Holland, dance senior. “Multiple students have fallen and slipped while walking to classes. As a dance major as I have been waking around campus this morning, I have been genuinely terrified of falling and injuring myself.”
According to timeanddate.com, the night before had ice fog, and the entire day of Feb. 27 had ice fog and freezing rain. After school was canceled, Holland and other students expressed gratitude over Facebook.
“Thank you OCU officials for this decision!” Holland wrote. “I (and other students) are really appreciative to you for listening to our concerns!”
Some students expressed displeasure over school being canceled again.
“Ugh,” wrote Corinne Prudente, acting junior. “It would be great if we could learn how to properly deal with ice here instead of cancelling class every week.”
Some activities outside of classes were not cancelled. Activities such as rehearsal for Broadway Revue: American Spirit Dance Company and Oklahoma Children’s Theatre’s production of The Ugly Duckling still occurred.
“What we do is really quite remarkable,” said John Bedford, dean of the Ann Lacy School of American Dance and Entertainment.
Bedford said their production involves 180-190 students, entails extensive time commitment from all involved and has family members flying in from across the country for attendance at the performances. He said that because of these reasons, an optional rehearsal still occurred.
They rescheduled the costume run to a 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. timeslot, requested facilities lay extra salt down and made the rehearsal entirely optional. Anyone could decide not to attend rehearsal if they believed it would be unsafe for them to commute. Bedford said they watched the weather closely.
“If it appears to be a problem, we have a discussion with the provost, or the assistant provost, the president of the university, the police chief of OCUPD, and we talk to facilities,” he said.
Bedford said the facilities department does not have a say in the decision making process, but they decide what can be done to help keep conditions safe.
“Jo Rowan and I live in Norman,” he said. “And we drove up to rehearsal, and the roads were perfectly fine.”
Bedford said the roads were not as safe elsewhere, and people who had to commute from areas with more dangerous roads were right not to attend and were not penalized for missing the rehearsal.
Oklahoma Children’s Theatre officials also laid down additional salt in areas including their driveway, ramp and in front of their building.
Lyn Adams, executive director of OCT, said they did not realize campus was closed until they already started the show that morning.
“We already had a theater full of people,” Adams said. “To be honest, I didn’t even know that we got the message because I was seating people. I don’t carry my cell phone with me all the time, and it wasn’t until I came back up here and sat down after the show had started that I saw.”
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