nil} Vol. XXV, No. 6 0Nn°S € Penn State University, Delaware County Campus February 18, 1994 Winter Storms Cancel Classes: Cause Frustration for Campus By Meg Emhof By now, class being in session has become more the exception than the rule. Ice, snow, and severe flooding gave Delco students a mini-vacation almost immediately after semester break. However, most people didn’t mind the time off. Frank Skull, resident socialite here at Delco best summed it up by saying: “It was cool! I hung out with my friends, watched T.V., and just relaxed.” Sounds painless enough, right? No. Wrong. ‘Fraid not. This isn’t high school, when you knew your school closing number better than your own name. Many didn’t even know Delco had a closing number. Well, we do. Now that the ice age seems to have passed, that number is plastered all over campus. You can’t walk down a hall without seeing it at least ten times. Naturally, we'll never hear it on the radio now that we know what to listen for. “The following schools are closed: 492, 493, 494, 496, 497...” you get the point. Actually, even if you did know the number, it may not have helped on Friday, January 28. You'll recall that day as the one that you wished you had oars in your truck instead of a scraper or shovel. Yes, that was the day that the thaw began. Massive flooding on back streets in the area wreaked havoc on the rush-hour commute. The decision to begin classes two hours late was made by Dr. Madeline Hanes in Academic Affairs in the wee hours of the morning that day, to be broadcast on KYW by 6:00 AM. So, students prepared for classes at 10:30. Except that around 8:30, classes were canceled for the day. However, anyone who listened to KYW (and knew the #, of course) any earlier than 8:30 thought the classes would resume at 10:30. You can imagine the surprise of students, like myself, who swam all the way to the SEPTA bus stop and discovered there was no service to Penn State. Then came the insanity of backstroking home, only to find that school had been canceled entirely. From all over Delaware County came the cries of frustrated PennState students who found themselves wet, cranky, and wide awake at the ungodly hour of 9:00 AM for no apparent reason. Maybe you think that sounds lousy. Or maybe you're grunting, saying, “Oh yeah, well I drove for an hour through flooded streets to get to school and then found out that it was canceled!” Well, that sounds pretty lame, too. Around 10:30am, Andy, everyone's favorite security guard, went to the corner of Route 352 and Yearsley Mill Road and waved away a few eager students, saying that classes had indeed been canceled. Unfortunately, a select few can top those two sob stories. I'm talking about the people who work in the offices here at Delco. These devoted employees can whether or not to come in when classes are canceled (but the campus is open) due to inclement weather. This may sound good, but if they do choose to stay home because of the roads, it means taking a “personal” or “vacation” day. And everybody knows that when you have a real job as these people do, you only get a certain amount of days off. Jeff Wirth, Financial Officer here at PSU, made it in to work alive that miserable Friday morning. He stayed until 3:00 before he decided to call it a day, allowing more time than usual to brave the ride home through the deluge. Christine Williams, Accounting Officer, also arrived at PennState unscathed. She hung in until around 10:00am, when, after squaring away a few minor projects at her desk, she too took some personal time and left, assuring her safety by going home early. So, though you may have been battered by raging floods, keep in mind that it could have been worse. At least you weren't sacrificing valuable vacation days while you were sitting at home watching reruns of The Price Is Right . (You did too watch them, admit it). Only thirty-four more days until Spring... And the good guys who made it possible to get around the campus: (I. to r.) : Kerry Warcham, Assistant Director of Business Services and the maintenance crew: Leo McGlynn, Jim Duffy, Anthony DiGantomasco, Bernie Todd, John Albany. Photo by: WES TOMLINSON The SNOW and ive which made Winter Wonderland of Delco’s Campus wreaked havoc with class schedules and the semester calendar. Photo by: WES TOMLINSON School Closing Information Listen on your radio for #495 in Delaware County for day classes and #2495 for evening classes on KYW 1060 or Call 892-1275 for weather updates Pranksters Try To Obtain Delco’s School Closing Code By Jennifer Holland The two free weeks we had to ourselves due to weather emergencies caused a lot of chaos at Delco. The continuous rain, snow, and ice really put us behind academically, as well as socially. Many of us couldn't go anywhere. We stayed inside, watching TV or talking to friends on the phone. Face it, we were bored. However, two unidentified people were not. In fact, the weather not only caused them to think that they were comedians; it also stirred up their sophomoric actions as well. On Friday, January 28, Marianne Rhodes, Director of Campus Public Relations and Development, received an anonymous phone call concerning the weather announcements. Mrs. Rhodes has the responsibility of calling KYW and giving them the code to announce the closing of school. Keep in mind that this code is different from the one announced on the radio. Between 5 and 6 am. Friday morning, a man, disguising his voice, called Mrs. Rhodes’ home and stated that he was Mr. Coleman. The prankster asked Mrs. Rhodes for the code to KYW. Rhodes claimed, “I wasn’t born yesterday!” In fact, she even mentioned how the foolish adolescent reminded her of Beavis and Butthead. Mr. “Pete” Coleman, Director of Student Activities and Services, also received a crank call around the same time. A woman’s voice claimed she was Mrs. Rhodes and that she needed the code as well. Mr. Coleman wasn’t fooled either! KYW also received phone calls. This specific number to the radio station is unpublished, so the two jokers had to dig deep somewhere to get the information. Certain students interviewed about the situation, feel there was no need’ to jeopardize important responsibilities of the school. According to them, “It's a real shame people who received their diplomas in high school didn’t graduate their immatureness as well.” One specific student even stated, “ Not for anything, but they weren’t going to get a detention if they didn’t attend school!” Mrs. Rhodes mentioned that if these people are discovered, serious disciplinary actions will be taken. Such inappropiate behavior will just not be tolerated!
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