I was strolling near Ballantine Hall on my first day back to IU for spring semester. That stroll turned into what seemed to be my first skiing experience when my feet lost grip; the whole sidewalk was covered in a thick sheet of ice.
I slid about 4 to 5 yards without being able to stop until I fell into muddy grass.
It was almost 9 a.m., and IU had not yet salted the sidewalks in this busy part of campus. It seemed as if IU did not view student safety as a high priority.
I watched at least seven more students slide down the sidewalk like I did. Some students advised others to walk through the mud because it was more saferthan the sidewalk.
It is completely reasonable for students to expect their walk to class to be more than just safe.
This is not acceptable, especially when we pay such high tuition. This situation demonstrates IU’s lack of concern for its use of resources.
Not only do we pay high tuition and have thousands of alumni donate money for good professors, that money is supposed to be used to secure the safety of IU students. That being said, IU should put its resources to proper use in a timely manner.
It should also be recognized that when a student is injured on campus due to IU’s lack of safety measurements, it may cost the University thousands of dollars to assist the injured student in medical bills. It could be a lot less expensive to salt the sidewalks on time than to pay thousands of dollars for a student’s medical bills.
I understand that it was early in the morning when the sidewalks were not salted. It is difficult for ground workers to wake up at 6 or 7 a.m. to salt the sidewalks at IU. However, if IU expects students to attend classes at 8 a.m., then they should expect their workers to have salted the sidewalks well before that time.
