Blue Moons and Purple Toes

So with the bad winter we've had, I've previously mentioned classes have been cancelled twice. That is a rarity indeed, my friends, and I'm convinced they only cancelled them because they were worried about getting their asses sued off for all the slip-and-falls. Cold weather leading to frostbite? They don't care. Snowdrifts in the middle of the sidewalk and unplowed streets? They don't care. Ice? Hmm, maybe they'll think about caring.

Anywho, there has been conversation amongst the powers that be about improving/clarifying the cancellation policy...both times that classes were cancelled, it was after the earlier morning classes had already started. Now, like many other, more traditional students, I personally avoid scheduling any classes before 10:30 if I can possibly help it, but even the best of us end up in a 9:30 from time to time. And the crazies sign up for those 8:30 abominations. (I did that once...my first semester out of high school...that was the end of that.)

Now, views on cancellation vary widely amongst the professors. Like this fool:

[The U] could revert to the old policy of never canceling classes - to which one faculty member enthusiastically nodded his head in agreement

Notice he goes unnamed. We wouldn't want every student until endtimes avoiding taking his classes, now would we?

The other end of the crazy-professor spectrum is best represented by one of my current profs, who has twice not made it to class herself but sent her teaching assistant to lead class--which we were expected to attend. WTF?

For the most part, the U's unwillingness to cancel classes puts the responsibility on the individual professors...and some of them cancel their individual classes. When you have 3 classes, and 2 are cancelled, you're still expected to make it to the 3rd. So that has its own degree of lameness. Plus, professors let you know about cancellations through email. If you're on campus for an uncancelled class and not checking your email regularly, you may not know about a cancellation until you show up for the newly cancelled class and get lonely.

Whatever they do to the policy, there will always be unhappiness...but at least maybe they can clear up some of the confusion. And let people know the whole U has cancelled classes before all the support staff and half the student body show up.