With buses reduced and bikes impossible, Zoom looks better

Michigan State University students were socked by the snowstorm that reached mid-Michigan Feb. 2. Although many professors switched to online teaching, students with in-person classes had to wade through heavy snow to attend their lectures. 

Advertising management freshman Nina Lautman was stressing over her activities the night before. She lives in the South Neighborhood and has classes in the North Neighborhood. To attend her class, she would have had to walk for at least 30 minutes.

“My professor actually canceled class in the morning, but I was stressed the night before because I was like, ‘how am I going to get to class because the buses are running on a 30-minute time period?’ I think it’s unfair and it makes it way more challenging and stressful on top of class that can already be stressful,” said Lautman.

The extension of reductions in CATA bus routes announced on Jan. 26, aggravated this situation, as MSU’s student body especially relies on bus services in winter. For animal science major Joi Edwards, waiting at least 30 minutes outside for the bus during a snowstorm was a problem. 

“It was a bigger issue because of the bus system,” said Edwards.

English student Brooke Zeiter couldn’t understand why some professors didn’t consider their students’ transportation under such an extreme situation. 

“As a professor, I don’t know why you would want to make someone do that, especially because us freshmen, can’t even have cars,” said Zeiter, “It’s kinda selfish.”

For some students, Wednesday’s snowstorm was one of their first contacts with snow. It was a challenging, but unique experience.