(Image Via Anonymous UMassD Student) 

Social Media Manager: Samantha McCarthy 

Email: smccarthy12@umassd.edu

Following the snowfall on Sunday, January 25th into the early hours of Monday, January 26th, UMass Dartmouth canceled the first day of classes for the spring semester after getting around 14 inches of snow. 

With this snow day, many students expected a clear way to get to their classes and support from campus administration and facilities during this inclement weather. But, after receiving accounts from multiple UMassD students, this was simply not the case. 

This article is being written to address student concerns around accessibility and campus functions during this snowstorm. I have chosen to leave many names anonymous (some by request, but also for the purposes of raising concerns from the student body as a whole rather than pointing to individuals). 

From my personal experience, the few days- and honestly, week or two- following the snowstorm was difficult. Walkways were not cleared properly, leaving me (and I’m sure many others) to actually have to trek through the snow just to get to class. 

After the snow had melted a little bit, it turned to ice that made my walk to and from class genuinely dangerous. I never truly fell, but I came close to it a handful of times. I mostly faced this issue on the path between parking lots 6 and 6A. 

The week that classes started, I heard a lot of chatter between my classmates, roommates, and others on campus, and I knew this was an issue that went beyond the walls of my classrooms or dorm. 

So, I posted to UMassD social media pages asking for others’ experiences with traveling to or across campus after the snowfall. To say the least, the responses raise a question of campus facilities’ competency when it comes to cleanup following a snowstorm. 

Firstly, I received these photos from a student who chose to remain anonymous. These photos were taken on the first day of classes (when many other public universities chose to cancel because of continuous snow clean up), January 27th while this student was walking to their 8 A.M. class. 

(Images via Anonymous UMassD Student) 

These images speak for themselves. Our campus stairs are already crumbling and extremely unsafe, so why even bother shoveling them? Jokes aside, I am stunned that this was the state of our campus and we still had class the Tuesday following the snowstorm. 

I received many more messages from students raising concerns about their safety after the snowfall. 

One student who has been parking in lot 20 for the 2025-2026 school year said the lot was plowed in the aisles only which didn’t allow students to move their cars. The student returned to their car a few days later to see that their car was towed without notification from the university. The student additionally voiced concerns that their car was towed, and the lot was seemingly not plowed. 

This same student also stated that their roommate had witnessed students in wheelchairs having difficulty simply getting around campus. 

A different student informed me that the first day of classes the area in front of the Centennial Way modular units were not cleared, resulting in them falling and having to use the door handle to catch themselves. 

This student also stated that they saw dining hall staff attempting to get food across campus to the library, having to strenuously push the cart through the inches of snow that were not properly cleared off the pathways. 

One commuter student reached out to me voicing concerns about finding parking on campus during this time. This student said they had to leave their house 20-30 minutes earlier than usual every morning, having to circle lots for almost 30 minutes just to find a spot, and sometimes having to leave campus because they were not able to find parking. UMassD is already facing a parking shortage because of the Liberal Arts building renovation, and the inadequate clearing of lots made this much more difficult for our commuter students. 

Two students that I was able to interview voiced a very concerning incident that they faced after leaving the gym on Monday, February 9th around 9:30 P.M. While at this point some of the snow was cleared up, many of the campus walkways were covered in ice, especially once the sun went down and the melted snow on the ground refroze. 

Mya Esteireiro and Cameron Duquette-Holmes (2029) were leaving the Tripp Athletic Center after working out in the gym after checking the UMassD shuttle app, seeing the shuttle was soon stopping at the gym. The two went outside to wait for a ride back to the Oak Glen dorms, and were turned away by the shuttle driver. 

“The shuttle was pulling up to the stop outside the gym well before 10 o’clock,” said Duquette-Holmes. “We tried to go over and get on, and he told us that this was the last round of stops he was doing.”

“It’s the end of my shift, that’s all he would say,” said Esteireiro. The shuttle driver then shut the doors and drove away, leaving the two to walk back to their rooms in 19-degree weather. 

“It was 19 degrees out, it was cold, we had just worked out,” she added. 

The two then expressed the frustration of the walk back to the dorm. Having to walk on the side of the street because of the uncleared pathways, they still had to be extremely cautious of the black ice that ran along the sides of the roads, and it isn’t easily seen unless a light is shining directly on it. 

Another friend of a visually impaired student on campus explained the stress the uncleared snow has caused. The student had to change the routes they take to class, saying they are not able to reach railings on stairways because the snow is so built up next to it, as well as not being able to use their cane against buildings to assist in guiding them around campus. 

These are a synopsis and explanation of complaints that were voiced to me, and I’m sure there are plenty more from students who were not able to speak up. This campus is already subpar in its accessibility for students, and the added snow and ice has not made it easier for anybody, regardless of their physical abilities. 

We understand University staff have been working to keep our campus as snow-free as possible and this article does not serve to make any accusations towards staff, faculty, or administration.