There is no doubt that the extreme weather conditions of the past two weeks in Dallas are out of the ordinary, to say the least.
According to Brad Cheves, vice-president for development and external affairs at SMU, preliminary historical research shows that four days of school closings due to inclement weather are unparalleled in the first 100 years of our university. It was with this statement that the editorial board meeting with Cheves began.
Cheves continued on to outline the process and policies of the university for inclement weather. Per this policy, it is the primary goal of the university to remain open so as not to disrupt a productive learning environment beyond what is necessary for security reasons. Also according to this policy, decisions regarding university closures due to inclement weather will err on the side of accuracy and not on the side of advanced notice.
The night of Wednesday, Feb. 2 was an exception to this stated policy. In the eyes of the administration, the reversal of the decision, made on Thursday morning, proved why waiting until the morning of leads to better decisions regarding university closings. On the morning of a day where inclement weather conditions may not permit the university to open, the chief of the SMU police department and his staff assess the campus grounds, local and personal reports and the surrounding area to determine if safety risks are such that the university should close operations. Once the research and surveying on the ground have taken place, Provost Paul W. Ludden and Vice-President Brad Cheves are added to the call. Along with the director of operations management, a recommendation is made.
When President R. Gerald Turner is added to the line, the recommendation is presented, along with any concurring and/or dissenting opinions. President Turner then makes a decision which is communicated to the SMU community via e-mail, the SMU website, Facebook, Twitter and local television and radio stations. It should be noted that the past two weeks, every day that the university was closed, President Turner, Provost Ludden and Vice-President Brad Cheves were all on campus.
While the editorial board staff believes that the policies of the university are effective and reasonable, there are elements that can be improved and made more comprehensive to avoid an uproar like the one of the past two weeks. Regarding communication, regardless of whether it is accurate or not, there was a perceived antagonistic sentiment from the administration towards the student body. To the editorial board of the Daily Campus, this seems entirely unreasonable and unnecessary. The students and the administration are not on opposing sides. The administration should consider what further measures can be taken to ensure that students are informed and aware of the process and policies enacted in these extraordinary circumstances.In addition to the early morning e-mail with the decision about closures, an “evening inform” that anticipates when the decision will be made and other important considerations would be helpful. While this may seem excessive and perhaps unnecessary, including safety precautions within the body of this e-mail or below the decision in the morning e-mail would show concern and express attention toward the student body.
Finally, as the editorial board and staff of a news outlet, we would also like to note that Vice-President Brad Cheves did confirm that the Facebook, Twitter and other means of social media were considered when making the decision regarding closings. As gauges of public opinion and sentiment, these means are useful tools and an efficacious means of communication, even with the administration of the university.
