The University of Connecticut was among the colleges and universities that stayed open despite the snow Monday, and students said snowy sidewalks and slippery roads made it difficult – if not impossible – to get to class.
UConn opened late, at 10 a.m., a decision that sent many students to social media in protest. A number of students and parents also reached out to NBC Connecticut with complaints.
"I think it's kind of ridiculous. I mean, I know a lot of other places around here are closed, and as you can see, the roads are horrible," explained UConn student Alex Pollio. "I just had a class and five people were in it."
University officials said more than 75 percent of students live on campus and walk rather than drive to class. But snow-covered sidewalks posed serious problems in places like Hilltop Apartments, where students were forced into the street while trekking down the hill.\
"It's looking like it was a bad decision," said UConn student Reuben Pierre-Louis. "It looks like it's just going to keep getting worse and it doesn't look like it's even safe."
Snow plows carved out narrow travel lanes that left no room for two-way traffic, forcing cars to back up and move over when confronted with oncoming traffic.
"My friends who live off campus, I know a lot of them made the choice to stay and not come in today because it was pretty poor driving on the roads," said student Taylor Dubreuil.
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UConn officials said snowy school days are par for the course in New England.
"While these storms are frustrating for all of us, these situations unfortunately are part of the landscape for a university in the Northeast in winter. UConn is no different today than many other universities that are open today after a delay, including Quinnipiac. Wesleyan, Yale, Trinity and many others also are open," UConn spokesperson Stephanie Reitz said in a statement Monday.
Reitz said the university is mindful of commuter students and faculty members who may not have felt comfortable driving in.
"[We] recognize that employees and many students still drive to the campuses. We regularly remind them – as recently as last night, in fact – that they can decide against traveling to campus if they aren't comfortable, and that faculty must accommodate those students and employees can take their banked time without the need to ask in advance," Reitz said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Central Connecticut State University, Eastern Connecticut State University, Southern Connecticut State University and Western Connecticut State University are all closed on Monday, as are the University of Hartford, Goodwin College, and many of the state's community colleges.
