Temple Students Tweet Frustrations Over Going to Class

Around the area college students were talking Thursday about having to trudge to class through the snow.

But nowhere was the anger of having to go to class more evident than Temple.

Angry college students turned to Twitter Thursday to complain about Temple’s decision to keep school open despite more than a foot of snow in and around the city.

Temple University administration has no care for their students! There was in some areas up to 18in snowfall and not even a delay!” tweeted @GreenEyedDuck.

“Weather alert: As of 5:15 a.m...Temple is open & operating on normal schedule on Thursday,” the school had tweeted earlier in the day.

Students were angered by the North Philly college’s decision to stay open despite all city public and private schools and many area schools districts opting for a snow day.

Amidst the piles of snow and puddles of slush -- as students trekked to and from class -- many questioned TU's decision to stay open.

“It’s absolutely appalling that Temple was still opened despite the fact that clearly even now these roads aren’t drivable,” sophomore Brennen Dickerson declared.

Scattered SEPTA bus and rail cancellations and delays also didn’t help students at the traditionally commuter-friendly school get to class.

“It’s dangerous for people like commuters, who have a hard time walking around in the snow,” said commuter student Hannah Adams.

Venting their frustration, students hit up the Web. In fact “Temple University” was one of the top trending topics on Twitter in Philadelphia during the day.

Disgruntled posts streamed all afternoon. Students even mobilized on Facebook, trying to collect 5,000 of signatures to get the school to change their inclement weather policy.

By midnight nearly 3,300 students had signed the petition.

“Half the teachers canceled class and half the students didn’t go,” said senior Bunnie Weeks. “So I don’t know what that leaves the remaining population at this school.”

Temple responded to the criticism with a statement:

“An important consideration was the fact that the snow had stopped falling around 1 a.m. and Temple’s facilities and operations crews had worked overnight to clear the campuses.”

The trucks were still tending to snow-covered streets well into Thursday night.

But some students admit they preferred going to class.

“It’s still early in the semester and we still are in winter so February comes we have another snow day -- we save this one for next month,” said student James Jackson.

And maybe going to school in the snow could teach a lesson.

“I think Temple looks at it like it’s building character,” said architecture student Andrew Nunamaker, architecture student. “Everybody else is digging out their cars and we’re here learning.”

Temple wasn’t the only university in session in the city as students battled the elements to hit classrooms at Drexel and the University of Pennsylvania as well.


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