By Sophia Herndon

University of Maryland students are starting the spring semester with split feelings about the university’s snow management following Winter Storm Fern on Jan. 25. 

The storm impacted more than 240 million people across 40 states, according to FOX Weather. Nearly seven inches of snow fell in the College Park area, which prompted the university to cancel in-person classes and suspend non-essential services. The university opened for classes on Monday, Feb. 2, after a week-long delay due to ice and snow across campus grounds.

Nettie Randall, a senior public health science major, thought the cleanup was timely and efficient with the county’s resources.

“I know the cleanup was pretty difficult for most of the counties,” Randall said.

In the days following the storm, constant refreezing and snowplowing made shoveling more difficult, according to UMD’s Facilities Management website. The Department of Transportation Services, which manages parking, shuttles and other transportation on campus, detailed the snow management process in an email sent to the campus community.

“Before the storm, we communicated with permit holders to encourage vehicles to be moved from surface lots and garage roofs into parking garages to facilitate snow and ice removal,” a DOTS spokesperson wrote.

Freshman mechanical engineering major Malik Prasetiawan felt that snow management was slow, prioritizing popular locations on campus while leaving other locations neglected. 

Senior public health science major Melvia Debrah thought that UMD responded efficiently with its available resources.

“UMD is a pretty big campus, so there’s a lot of ground to cover, especially with sidewalks,” Debrah said.

The campus has 20 miles of road and 87 miles of sidewalks to clean of ice and snow, according to the facilities management website,

“Following the storm, DOTS crews cleared snow and ice from campus garages, the lot surrounding the Shuttle-UM operations facility, and Shuttle-UM vehicles themselves, including bus roofs,” DOTS wrote.

The email explained that DOTS received questions primarily regarding shuttle availability from the student body during the storm. DOTS wrote they made service decisions based on road conditions and the ability to operate vehicles safely, while communicating with other campus partners handling snow removal.

Debrah advised that the university should clean the roofs across campus after a snowstorm. 

“I’ve seen snow fall off the roofs, and it could hit students,” Debrah said. “It’s not as safe to be walking on campus if there’s snow flying everywhere.”

Debrah and Randall both thought messages from the university regarding class cancellations should have been sent sooner. Throughout the week, students were waiting for updates daily.

“They took a bit of time considering the fact you have commuter students who have to prepare to go to school the next morning,” Debrah said.

Erin Heinze, a freshman enrolled in letters and sciences, agreed that updates from the university should have come sooner.

“Sometimes it’s not worth it to try your best to stay open when people can get injured from car accidents or slipping,” Heinze said. “Sometimes it’s okay to just close out of precaution.”

Like the other students, Prasetiawan expressed that UMD should have handled messages differently and communicated possible storm implications.

“If there’s a big storm like this, I would advise them to warn students about what they’re getting into,” Prasetiawan said.

These students, recognizing the university’s resources, expressed hope for timely communication and efficient management for future snowstorms.

Featured Image: Snow outside of Tawes Hall on Feb. 11. Photo by Sofia Viruez-Munoz.