The ice storm that wreaked havoc across Toronto on the weekend of December 20 resulted in delayed exams, a three-day power outage, and damaged trees on campus. Disruptions are still being felt on campus coming into the new year.
The storm caused the delay of 48 exams scheduled on December 23, an electrical blackout on the Glendon campus, and the damage will require a month of cleanup around campus.
Brendan Schulz, executive director of strategy & planning at York, says the decision to close the university on December 23 was made in students’ best interests.
“I wish you could be a fly on the wall in some of these rooms when the decisions are made. The balancing out of certain of priorities and risks and the amount of attention and focus put on what’s in the best interests of the students is such a high priority,” says Schulz.
In an email sent out on the night of December 22, students were notified that due to ongoing and anticipated weather conditions, the university would suspend its operations. All exams that were scheduled for December 23 would be pushed to January 11, with January 12 reserved as a backup for those unable to attend the first exam date.
Abhik Banerji, a fourth-year economics major and statistics minor, says he wasn’t expecting the university to close and only found out about the closure after his friends told him to check his email.
“To be honest, I understood the situation.”
“But I had to study for a week for this exam, and I was all prepared to do it and get it done, and then go on vacation. Now I have to spend my vacation studying for this exam because it’s one of my hardest exams, and my holidays are spoiled in a way.”
Apart from these exam delays, the Glendon campus was left without power for three days starting December 20, with residents having to relocate to the Keele campus.
Richard Francki, assistant vp, campus services & business operations, says York’s energy services division and Glendon’s maintenance services were heavily involved in monitoring the campus and restoring heat once power was restored. Power was restored December 23 at 10:45 a.m.
Francki says housing and food services helped out in providing support to students.
Due to the heavy snowfall and freezing conditions, tress on campus experience significant damage.
Francki says the cleanup will take about a month to finish.
“We rendered the campus safe, but if you walk around the campus, you will see piles of branches on the ground where the branches were hanging or dangerous or might have impacted a power cable,” says Francki.
“Campus Services were in operation throughout the ice storm, firstly to keep roadways and walkways in safe operation during the exam period, and secondly, once the university was declared closed, to clean up.”
For additional information such as closure dates and weather warnings check out; http://webapps.yorku.ca/weather/.
Hamid Adem
News Editor
