By Michael Freeman, Managing Editor
Icy conditions around the Abilene area caused ACU officials to cancel classes for a day and a half; however, Tuesday and Wednesday’s closures should not drastically alter class schedules.
“We’re early enough in the semester that professors can adapt their syllabuses,” said Jim Holmans, executive assistant to the president. “It’s not a big deal at this point in the semester. If we were at the end of the semester, it would be a big deal.”
An Arctic cold front rolled into the Big Country Monday, bringing with it sleet and freezing rain that caused hazardous conditions. Low temperatures Tuesday and Wednesday kept the roads slippery and forced university officials to cancel classes Tuesday and delay classes until noon Wednesday. Wednesday’s afternoon classes resumed as scheduled.
“The difference between Tuesday and Wednesday was on Tuesday we knew the temperatures were not going to warm up at all,” said Jimmy Ellison, chief of the ACU Police Department. “And on Wednesday, while it was icy and it was well below freezing, we had reports that as soon as the sun got up above the horizon, it would quickly warm up into the 50s, so we knew that everything would be thawed, and the streets would be melted and safe for travel.” Wednesday’s high temperature reached 50 degrees, while the low temperature was 11 degrees – one degree higher than record for that day, which was set in 1895, according to The Weather Channel.
University officials had originally decided to resume classes at 10 a.m. Wednesday, but pushed the start time to 12 p.m. after low temperatures did not melt the icy roads Wednesday morning.
“It took about an hour and a half longer to really get to the point where it was safe for students to travel, so we went ahead and bumped it up until noon just to err on the side of caution,” Ellison said.
The police department sent 3,300 text messages on the ACU ALERT system Wednesday morning – 400 more than Tuesday. Chief Ellison said he was encouraged that students had signed up for the emergency message system since Tuesday’s closure. He said he was also glad that the only incidents reported during the two days were minor traffic accidents and nothing serious.
Tuesday and Wednesday’s closures marked the first time the university has canceled classes because of weather since the beginning of the spring semester in 2007.
