“Waynesburg University rarely cancels classes.”

These were the words of Stacey Brodak, vice president for Institutional Advancement and University Relations.

The evening of Tuesday, Jan. 28, students hoped the sub-zero wind chill would lead to one of those rare class cancellations. At 7:36 p.m., however, they received an email from the Rev. James Tinnemeyer, dean of students, saying that all classes for Wednesday, Jan. 29, would go on as scheduled.

“Safety is always our top concern, but it is always a priority to offer the courses for which our students have paid,” Brodak said.

After receiving a recommendation from an emergency response group, Waynesburg eventually decided to cancel classes from 3 p.m. Wednesday through noon Thursday.

Between the two decisions, some students, such as junior biochemistry major Katie Jones, took to social media to express their displeasure.

Jones said she felt it was reasonable for students like herself to walk to classes, but she was shocked that a majority of the classes on Wednesday were held.

“I had to walk all the way across campus [to get to class], so I’m outside probably 7-8 minutes, and I know frostbite can happen in four minutes,” Jones said. “So, I thought, ‘it’s kind of dangerous,’ but also, just dress warm, [and] you’ll get through it. I know there are people outside working all day. So, it’s definitely doable, but also a little bit disappointing.”

Other schools in the area, such as the California University of Pennsylvania and Washington & Jefferson College, received full days off, and Brodak said the university “does monitor such activity regarding regional schools.” Brodak said that the intimate setup of Waynesburg’s campus makes it manageable for students to get to class as long as they are aware of the weather.

“Due to being a largely residential campus, the majority of our students have the ability to get to class safely by foot, given they dress appropriately for the weather,” Brodak said. “Students, including those who commute, were not penalized for absences due to inclement weather.”

Junior history major Hannah Gatesman wasn’t personally affected by the schedule change, as none of her classes fell within the 3 p.m. Wednesday to noon Thursday window.

One of her friends, Rachel Lemay, started a petition on Change.org that was meant to be something small, Gatesman said, but ended up getting nearly 1,000 signatures.

“We thought maybe 50 to 100 people would sign [the petition,] but it ended up going way bigger than we thought it would,” Gatesman said. “Not that it really had any impact on the administration’s decision, but it was just kind of cool to see that many people signing something.”

For Gatesman, social media is a method for students to alert the administration of their thoughts, regardless of whether or not it leads to change.

“I think [social media is] a great way for the administration to hear what we’re saying, what we’re thinking,” she said. “Ultimately, it’s their decision whether they listen or not, but it’s there for them to see… I think moving forward, there’s a definite potential for social media and the student voices to have a bigger impact on administrations decisions.”

While Brodak said social media is kept in mind, what the university reads online doesn’t have an impact in such a significant decision.

“As we always do, we monitored the activity on official Waynesburg University social media accounts during the Polar Vortex event,” she said. “A decision such as this which affects the entire Waynesburg University community is not made based on comments appearing on social media.”

Jones believes the best way for students to express their opinions on issues such as inclement weather isn’t behind a keyboard, but rather to speak with the university’s higher-ups in person.

“I feel like the best way to voice your opinion would be to actually go to the office of the president, and not just tweeting about it because I don’t know how effective that would be,” Jones said. “But I’m sure if there’s an overflow of students complaining, that [the administration] might think to [respond] to that.”