Snow frustrates students with disabilities as winter begins

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

This is a sentiment many University of Nebraska-Lincoln students are rejecting. As snowfall builds up on sidewalks and streets on campus, it's becoming more difficult for some students to get to class. Many students question the effectiveness of snow removal measures on campus.

For Erin Clement, a senior political science major, the snow buildup causes more than a simple inconvenience. Clement uses a mechanical wheelchair and said she sometimes finds getting around on a snow- and ice-covered campus frustrating.

Clement said that on Dec. 5 she got stuck three separate times while going from the Nebraska Union to the University Health Center. In addition, she faces trouble every day with her commute. Clement, who lives off campus, is driven to the UNL campus and said she has had to be dropped off at more inconvenient locations because of snow.

"I really don't (think Landscape Services clears enough snow)," she said. "I'll get stuck and spin out on the ice."

Eileen Bergt, director of Landscape Services, said that many efforts are taken to clear the sidewalks sufficiently enough for students to move around on campus.

Bergt worked with Veva Cheney, director of Services for Students with Disabilities, and Christy Horn, compliance officer for the Americans with Disabilities Act or ADA, to create pedestrian snow removal routes. These paths run all over campus to ensure there is a passable route to the handicap-accessible entrances on every campus building.

These routes are available on the Landscape Services website. Clement said she believes there is an accurate representation of snow removal many days after the initial snowfall but that several of the paths indicated on the map don't get cleared early on.

UNL has one snow removal crew for both City and East Campus. Bergt said the crews are usually called in when there are two or more inches of snow on the ground.

According to Bergt, when a snowstorm occurs overnight, the crews will come in that night to clear the snow before pedestrians begin using the sidewalks for the day. She said the preferred hours for snow removal fall between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. because during this time, most students aren't using the sidewalks.

"Our goal is to have campus open by 7 a.m.," she said.

Bergt said that although Landscape Services handles snow removal on the majority of campus, Parking and Transit Services is in charge of snow removal in parking lots and residential snow removal is the responsibility of University Housing.

Ryan Butler, a sophomore general studies major, also experiences some difficulty when moving around on campus. Butler uses a wheelchair and, like Clement, is occasionally limited by the weather.

"When there's a foot of snow on the ground, that's a no-go," Butler said.

Butler had to miss class in the 2010-2011 school year because of snow. He said this hasn't been a problem yet in the 2011-2012 year.

Clement, however, said that this is the worst year she's seen and that missing class is nothing to take lightly.

"For me in particular, if I miss class ... it affects how I learn," she said.

Clement works with Services for Students with Disabilities and said that when the weather prevents her from making it to class, she contacts the SSD office. She said SSD then informs her professors that she isn't in class because of a legitimate reason.

According to Bergt, part of the problem about this snowfall is that it was particularly wet and was followed by very cold weather. She said ice melter is put down but it won't melt ice and snow if the temperature is less than 5 degrees.

Clement plans on moving to a warmer climate. After taking a year off after graduation, she hopes to attend graduate school in California, New Mexico or Arizona, where she won't have to deal with snow.