6:00 a.m. UPDATE: Due to severe weather conditions, all UFV Fraser Valley locations are CLOSED on Thursday, January 19, 2012. All classes and events are cancelled.
I suppose every 3 to 4 out of 5 days of school should be canceled in any other province than BC hey? Since, you know, they get snow anywhere from November all the way thru to April in some places. I wonder how they graduate out there, if school is canceled every time there is snow? They much be at school 16 hours a day when they go, hey?
C”mon people, it”s snow. Deal with it. Drive slower and leave earlier. Don”t be an idiot and suddenly jam on the brakes – you”re going to slide, and your car is going to get out of control.
In BC… Wait, check that. In the LOWER MAINLAND, we freak out at the sight of snow! Leave earlier, give more room from you to the driver in front of you, and again, DON”T jam on the brakes, it”s the worst thing you can do under slippery conditions! Oh yeah, don”t speed, that might be a start too.
Not trying to be an a-hole, just stating the facts. We are the worst drivers in “snow” because most of us freak out and are scared.
Just…BE SAFE 🙂
On some days I would agree with you. However, you must remember that in BC our weather is much wetter and so our conditions are more hazardous.
Why are we the worst drivers in snow? Because we get the least amount of snow. Rain – sure – people are used to it. But can you blame them for being nervous when freezing rain is included in the equation?
In those places that have snow from November to April, I bet they have better city program to deal with the snow as well. It”s easier to drive when the road has actually been plowed for you.
I”m glad they”re cancelling school on the days that they are. It means I don”t have to feel bad when I can”t make the hour long drive to University due to freezing rain, sleet and snow.
In case you”re wondering – I”m quite good at driving in the snow. I”ve done my fair share of driving down country roads in the dark in slush and snow. It”s not me I”m worried about. It”s the other drivers.
Totally agree with Maryanne.I dont understand about the people who try to compare apples with oranges and i think people like Another Student…that is what they are trying to do here compare the Fraser valley with the other parts/places , which get snow from Nov to April almost every day.
They are better prepared for that and their city is looking after their roads much much better than here especially in abbotsford. Safety comes first….the life of a human being is very precious.I totally support UFV in keeping their campuses closed in treacherous conditions like this.Thank you for putting the safety first.
Everyone has their fears - leave us alone!January 19, 2012 at 2:02 pm#
While I understand that we pay excess $s in fees, driving in the snow could cost someone their live – which is priceless. So, I think we should be more empathetic towards people who are afraid or nervous to drive in the snow. Yes, we aren”t as experienced, but how do you prepare yourself not to crash on black ice anyway?
Other countries have been dealing with it for years, maybe BC”s time will come too. Until then, let”s be safe, and if that means staying home during snow days – let it be.
Also, UFV should have online classes available when class based learning is cancelled. At least that we”re not getting ripped off for our money.
Considering there is pretty terrible public transit for anyone coming from outside of Mission – Hope, I agree with the cancellations. Many of us have to drive in, and the roads to the campus aren”t safe. Risking driving in the dark over ice covered roads, through high winds which blow the snow around, making it difficult to see, only to come to school to find it cancelled hours later is ridiculous. The school needs to consider all factors in the morning so that none of us have to deal with this.
4 days of class cancelations would be fine if we weren”t paying a lot of money to attend our classes. We pay these fees so that we can learn the material of a given class and get recognition for it. Yes, we can learn the material that will be inevitably cut form the class on our own; however, we won”t have lectures or class discusions on it. If other universities in far more inclimate regions of our country can solve this problem, why can”t BC?
I went to UFV today to buy books and I was in for a shock!
1) The HWY past Aldergrove to UFV is ICY!!!
2) UFV did not salt the campus grounds, especially not the sidewalks. If a student or staff slips and hurts themselves on campus because of the snow/ ice, that”s on UFV for not salting the grounds.
3) There was an intense windstorm today that carried the snow. I opened my car door and it shut on me due to the wind.
4) The roads around UFV campus are not cleared!!!
What you see in the lower mainland is nothing compared to Abbotsford. They received about 8-10 inches of snow untouched. In the lower mainland the main roads are clear, which is why school has not been cancelled or other universities.
I drove a compact car with an all seasons tires, which brought me into shock because I thought at least the roads to UFV would have looked like the lower mainlands. There is no need for me to purchase winter tires just because the Valley did not clear their snow like the lower mainland! If they decided to open campus tomorrow, I strongly suggest you drive a 4×4 or a car with winter tires. I am going to borrow my parents SUV because driving in my car wit the weather condition up there is dangerous no matter how slow I go. Also, if you go too slow you get stuck in the snow. (: Drive safe everyone.
Maryanne is right. People here can”t drive in the snow because they don”t have to. It”s a temporary inconvenience, Another Student. Most of those places you are talking about are much more prepared to deal with snow. They have more than enough plow and salt crews. The people do not drive on summer or “all season” tires. In fact, some places it is against the law to drive without snow tires. How many people would be on the road if that were a condition here?
Fact is, many people in the Lower Mainland are not smart drivers. They are inexperienced in the snow, bad drivers to begin with, and are handling inadequate equipment. Driving to school on a regular day is risky enough, I do not want to risk my life amongst the masses to get to UFV. I have used my days away to get a head start on major projects that are due later in the semester. A couple of days of cancelled classes is not the end of the world. It”s a 14 week semester bud, chill out.
The roads are awful and extremely icy out here so for whoever says that it”s not hazardous i don”t know if i can agree with that. I have not drove my car in 3 days due to the roads. It is better safe than sorry.
My street hasn”t seen a plow since it started snowing and my car doesn”t have the proper tires to drive well on icy streets. It has nothing to do with me being a poor driver, it”s simply the conditions and what I lack to deal with them.
The upsetting thing for me here is that I personally message my teacher if her class is still on at around 10 am. Which she answered and said that she will still be teaching today and class is still in session. My class was at 11:30, when I entered my class it was completely empty…. After talking to some friends I realized classes that starts after 11:30 will be cancelled/// and that UFV will close at 1. So risking myself, and wasting gas for nothing? It”s hard not to get upset…
I don”t mind if classes are cancelled but with so little notice… after me arriving at school driving from far away..and waking up every hour or so from 6 am to check on the website wasn”t fun. I”ve decided I wont be going to class tmr, since it doesn”t look like neither students or teachers are willing to make it to class… I agree it is dangerous so why not just close the school instead of saying it”s OPEN, then saying some classes are cancelled, then saying classes after 11:30 are cancelled! then say that UFV will close at 1. I think we might as well just stay home this week,,,
I”m an excellent driver and very careful in winter conditions, I know how to drive in snow but that doesn”t mean that the roads are properly treated for these conditions 🙂 Not to mention that the transit is terrible lol. I could walk but it would take me about 2 hours to get to the university and I am not willing to do that if they end up closing early like they did yesterday!
This is outrageous. Students are meant to be paying for education. Education is what we should be getting. Sure some students have to commute to their campus from out of town. Well if that is the case then plan ahead. Look at a weather report, pay attention to the road conditions, and drive accordingly. If you know the highway is going to be icy; leave earlier and drive slower.
I feel like I”m being ripped off. Sure i can arrange meets with the prof”s, but I still am paying for 14 weeks of classes(lectures). Most classes are only once a week, hence missing one class is essentially the same as missing a whole week.
I live about a 10 min walk from the Chilliwack campus and luckily all my classes are there this semester. So naturally, I walk to my classes. On Wednesday, when I checked for the “severe” weather report in the morning, all campus” were OPEN. When I arrived for my class at 2:30, however; I found that UFV decided — halfway though the day — to CLOSE the campus”. That was infuriating.
Hey there little crybaby, did you ever think that some people maybe can”t afford winter tires? how about if you drive accordingly but some dumbass isn”t? did you ever think that other people not paying attention can cause accidents with more people than just themselves? did you ever think of reading the reasons as to WHY the university campuses aren”t closed? did you look over them and think about them for a while and understand WHY they have such terms and conditions? do you bitch that we get a god forsaken midterm break? OMG we could have a full 15 weeks if we got rid of that break! did you think about checking the university website before class? did you think there was a point to the BIG CAPITALIZED BULLETIN THAT READ “SEVERE WEATHER NOTICE” these last few days? did you think it was just for show and not emphasis that the campus may close because teachers that come from all parts of the lower mainland can”t make it? did you think “oh boy how silly of me, the campus is closed, and I did not check the website to make sure cancellations never happened mid day”? did you think of the fact that these campuses are closer to the end of the mountainous funnel that we would get it much worse than Vancouver? did you ever stop and think hey, it rarely snows here so I”m sure their snow removal budget isn”t THAT high, therefore making it more difficult to make the roads clear? are you capable of selflessly thinking, or weighing other options that other student”s or faculty may have to face? *sigh* apparently not.
Cyber-bullying at it”s finest. There was honestly no need to come at me like you did. Next time you could try a more civilized response.
I have the right to an opinion and that is where I stand on the fact that the campus” are closed. I was not being selfless, I was merely stating my own disappointment. Also I respect UFV”s decision to close down, even though I don”t like it.
Remember Cory that you only represent a very small minority of people. Many people like myself live off roads in the country side which are bizarre and covered in snowdrifts and ice. You cannot plan ahead with two feet of snow laying on the road where the little cars most of us students own cannot go through. Living near campus where all the main roads are prioritized and plowed gives you a biased view of the real situation. I work out in the country and the backroads are disaster… some are simply inaccessible because the wind from the fields just piles the snow on. I agree with the closing because I rather not drive for an hour and risk getting into a car crash where I will be losing more money than the little bit we lose with not having classes. We can drive safe all we want, but there are many crazy semi truck drivers and others out there that put us all at risk.
To those who might assume that some of us don”t get up early enough etc to get to school, is not a strong statement. I get up everyday like clock work at 5:15am and leave exactly at 6:15 to drop my kid off in Abbotsford then give myself Lots of Time to make it to class and not just because of the weather do I do this. I drive from Mission and this past week I have shown up each day that school said it was going to be open.
To find out when I get there and the other day hours later after waiting that they will be closing is completely frustrating!! I have wasted half a tank of gas and time driving for cancellations. I understand people”s frustration and concerns too coming from further distances.
So…when I now read Severe Weather Conditions, Im not going to gamble with my life on the road cuz of other drivers, my gas and time. I”d rather work on projects at home.
Oh and one more thing…If you might be thinking I probably can”t handle this weather for driving…I”m probably a little more experienced, seeing as how I was living in Fort McMurray before I came here…I know severe weather and driving conditions.
Be Safe Everyone and Use Your Own Judgment 🙂
I am getting frustrated with the possiblility of a third day of closure. Tuesday”s weather I can understand but Wednesday and Thursday”s roads were drivable for all those would could follow instructions to drive a little bit slower, keep extra distance between vehicles and add about 20-40 percent to your regular driving time.
It is really important for me to be in class, especially tonight when I was looking forward to some one-to-one time with my instructor. A meeting worth an extra 30 minutes to arrive at school safe. Why not leave the offer open-ended for fauclty to attend if they wish and have an individual or two be in charge of closing the school. This way all the students who were willing and able could have made their own decision whether they wanted to arrive in class, hence getting value for teh education they”ve overpaid for. Teachers joke all the time about “I know you would like to leave class early tonight,” but this is not the case with all students, some actually want to be in class for the full length of posted class times.
I have to head to work now so I can pay for my hard-earned tuition which may be giving me NO BANG FOR MY BUCK TODAY. Hey where can I get a refund? Now there is some motivation for re-opening!
Cancel classes if you must. Student and staff safety should be a consideration but please make the decision in a timely manner. We can all check the weather reports, wind and blowing advisories and check out road conditions on drive BC and make an informed decision. Just wondering why UFV admin can”t do the same? Providing notice that classes are cancelled @ 8:15 am on Tuesday and 1pm on Thursday because instructors have chosen not to show up is inexcusable. This was much too late for anyone already on the road. Many students did make the journey at some personal peril because it was posted that the UFV was open only to find classes cancelled upon arrival. This is not good enough! Get it together UFV! Other institutions both public and private seem to have a severe weather protocol and it isn”t left up to the “professional” vagaries of individual instructors. This is so Mickey Mouse!
Remember Cory that you only represent a very small minority of people. Many people like myself live off roads in the country side which are bizarre and covered in snowdrifts and ice. You cannot plan ahead with two feet of snow laying on the road where the little cars most of us students own cannot go through. Living near campus where all the main roads are prioritized and plowed gives you a biased view of the real situation. I work out in the country and the backroads are disaster… some are simply inaccessible because the wind from the fields just piles the snow on. I agree with the closing because I rather not drive for an hour and risk getting into a car crash where I will be losing more money than the little bit we lose with not having classes. We can drive safe all we want, but there are many crazy semi truck drivers and others out there that t risk.
The person who has made the decision to close the campus today must be very frustrated right now. The outcry of the masses yesterday clearly led to the closure of the campuses and today they are probably just trying to play it safe.
Although when I found out that campuses were closed today I was a little confused, since the roads have finally been plowed where I live and I personally would have little issue making it to the school.
What people need to understand is that the campus isn”t open or closed based on what you personally see outside of your window, a decision is made based on collective conditions.
Also, just because the campus is open, it doesn”t mean that you should deem your personal commute safe and attempt to make it in when you know that it isn”t – professors who take attendance will understand. If you miss a lesson, I”m sure your prof will be more than willing to make it up another time or during their office hours. Try being a problem solver before you jump to conclusions, and make decisions for your own personal safety ( as suggested by UFV) before you head out on OPEN campus days.
This is getting very frustrating, I need to register for a class for the passed 4 days. I have no idea what to do, everytime i call the registeration office it is closed…Its snow deal with it people around the world get more snow than us and still go to school. I need to go buy a book because i cant do my homework without the code. This is really getting annoying and I want to go to class because I have a 3 hour class and my final is coming up. And how are students supposed to pay for class when the last day for paying is JAN 24?
Everyone can argue that we”re being ripped off, I feel that way too… but I also live in the back of mission and I work on top of school full time. The city plowed the main road up here but didn”t get to my road for days. So if I wanted to get to school, which is the trades campus, I would be looking at not only my drive way shoveling, which is super long, but the road also. Do I feel cheapened by this week of no school? Yeah, is it worth risking my life trying to get to school, back to work and back home to get the small amount of sleep I do get. Not really. Read ahead, get as much work that you can do on your own, done. Prof”s usually or upon request, can give you work via a web link. Snow is not the end of the world and compromises can always be found to ensure safety and contnued studies.
They can”t leave the campus open just for a few people. They need to have the security staff there, plus they legally have to have the walkways and parking lots clear. Therefore they can”t simply leave it in the hands of a few people to just “lock up when they”re done” so to speak.
As for not being able to pay tuition in time, you can pay at your bank. That”s what I”ve always done and will continue to do. I”ve never had any issue with it, and don”t understand why everyone always waits in the huge line to do so.
Just enjoy that were getting a break and that today they were responsible enough to close the school first thing in the morning.
For those of you, above, who are complaining about “wasting” money because classes are cancelled, sorry, but just because classes are cancelled doesn”t mean you can”t do work. Haven”t you taken an online class before? If you”re not IN class doesn”t mean you that you can”t be reading up on topics and doing assignments. Snow days don”t equal sitting on your butt all day doing nothing.
Everyone calm down. Have a mug of hot chocolate and use your common sense. You may be fine getting into your classes but stop and have a little think about everyone else. That”s what UFV has to do when they make the decision to close. In Chilliwack, not only was a large section of Vedder Rd. closed, wind conditions yesterday created a complete white out on Evans Rd. and across the Sumas flats. If you had driven in it, you would have understood the closure as well. So get out your books, study and be grateful that you”ve had an early reading break!
Easy there, Facebook generation. I know you”ve all grown up complaining online, but this is a little sad. Life puts in a little speedbump here and there, no need to freak out. I”m sure your profs will dedicate a little extra time to you later in the semester if you need it. Everyone just chill.
To me, the worst thing about our biannual snowfall is the droves of smug, sanctimonious self-proclaimed “good winter drivers” who come out of the woodwork and feign to be perplexed as to why people in Abbotsford, where it snows twice a year, usually for half a day at a time, don”t deal with it as well as those in places where there is snow on the ground for 4 months straight. As for the roads being drivable on Wednesday, the Abbotsford PD reported whiteout conditions on Highway 1 across Sumas Prairie, as well as on Highway 11. They recommended people “stay home.” Maybe they should”ve asked Chad D. instead.
I am old compared to where most of you are at. I live where the roads are quite narrow and sloped beautifully so that when you slide, you nicely bury your entire vehicle – yes, even those gorgeous and expensive 4×4 SUVs which go through the 4 foot drifts just fine but slide on ice the same as the civics and versas do (actually worse) – in the ditches. I am originally from Agassiz, where the conditions are generally just a little worse even than Chilliwack and Abbotsford, sometimes Mission. After being caught in blizzards in Sumas Prairie in my old VW Rabbit, battling snowdrifts taller than my car, having a completely unavoidable head-on crash in ice and fog (well, avoidable only if I had wisely called in to work and been safely at home), and more, after more than 25 years of driving, I can tell you all that I appreciate that my daughter does not have to go to class in this. No amount of time can make up for unpassable roads. No job or education is worth risking your life and the lives of your passengers and other drivers. The city employees do a great job with the tools they have. It”s not their fault the snow melts after moving some of it and causes ice patches, or that the road they cleaned a half hour earlier has drifts taller than their snowplow blades. They can”t be everywhere at once. Enjoy your snow days. Get ahead on what you can. Pay your fees with online banking. Stay healthy enough and uninjured so you can go back when your class is open. Many of you are wise enough to have figured this out. The rest of you, I hope you do before you get hurt.
Ok, a quick, unedited note; the conditions at UFV Abbotsford are bad, yes I agree. In Chilliwack they are much worse, I have snow up to my window, it feels like -26 out and about 15-20% of the people have automobiles suitable (i.e. not sovered above the hood in snow oreven ice, and with 4X4). Get a life if you think all the Chilliwack students are going to drive to Abbotsford when the province is advising us not to use the highway, even after we can”t even get to it because we have been trapped without power in our own homes unable to get anywhere for DAYS. Think about that before you winge about the week your missing and all the money that your losing, which amounts to about 20 bucks a class.
It is the university of the FRASER VALLEY. Therefore, all regions need to be taken in to account when making a decision regarding school being open. Some people wish for a solution, I mean the schools east of us can all do it, why can”t we? That”s because the vast majority of those schools aren”t commuter campus”! We are a commuter campus and everyone needs to drive to get here. Sometimes the conditions are bad and people can”t make it. Also, stop complaining about tuition and check out some other school tuition rates.
Well I cant say anything for the drivers because I do not drive, I live a 15 minute walk from the college and am blessed that way. I am not oblivious to the weather conditions for drivers. One person cannot say to “leave earlier” and “pay attention to road conditions”. I am not so ignorant to say that people need to do that but I am aware that all sides of everyone argument here is a valid complaint to one extent or another.
Of course our education is VERY important and personally I have worked so hard to get back to school after a 10 year leave, but school is not more important than my life. If I were a driver Id be OK with the school being closed because then there is no worry about not getting to class and not hearing the prof lecture on something that MIGHT of MIGHT not be on the exam.
Yes, as paying students we are (outraged is a harsh word) upset at the week”s closing of the sch but I also agree that the roads, in some areas of the map, are too bad to drive. If we thought about others as much as we thought about ourselves this might look like a much nicer thread and not like a bunch of whining teenagers who aren”t getting what they want and throwing an “e-temper tantrum”
What a joke closed again??? C”mon I”ve been driving around Chilliwack all week and out to Abbotsford with no problems this is ridiculous. I have lived in Edmonton for four years and a spent a year in Quebec city and we went to work EVERYDAY and it was these conditions from October to April every year.. pffft
Actually school is closed because of a bizarre rash of suicides that have occured on the campus grounds in Chilliwack. Something also to with a Satanic ritual or Black Mass or sorts… Weird! 🙂
Jake, yes we offer a Bachelor of Business Admin program in Chandigarh, India. They are not affected by our snow closures so we”re having to start specifying ”Fraser Valley” locations!
Hahaha. Thanks Ms Russell, I didn”t know that! I wonder what the average annual snowfall in Chandigarh is? lol. What would a prof in India say if a student came to them and said they missed class because of the snow closures! Haha!
To all the people who think they are “so good at driving in these conditions,” some of us aren”t as experienced as you when it comes to driving in snowy/icy conditions. And we are very sorry for that, I”m from the lower mainland, and I”m terrible at driving in snow; Why? Because its my first time driving in snowy/icy conditions. In this part of BC we don”t normally have weather like this, all of you who live inland or used to live inland are used to weather like this (good for you). I already crashed my car yesterday trying to get to school so I am VERY thankful that UFV closed campuses today. Lets all just be happy that we are alive and healthy, and have the ability to argue about silly things like this. <3
I suppose every 3 to 4 out of 5 days of school should be canceled in any other province than BC hey? Since, you know, they get snow anywhere from November all the way thru to April in some places. I wonder how they graduate out there, if school is canceled every time there is snow? They much be at school 16 hours a day when they go, hey?
C”mon people, it”s snow. Deal with it. Drive slower and leave earlier. Don”t be an idiot and suddenly jam on the brakes – you”re going to slide, and your car is going to get out of control.
In BC… Wait, check that. In the LOWER MAINLAND, we freak out at the sight of snow! Leave earlier, give more room from you to the driver in front of you, and again, DON”T jam on the brakes, it”s the worst thing you can do under slippery conditions! Oh yeah, don”t speed, that might be a start too.
Not trying to be an a-hole, just stating the facts. We are the worst drivers in “snow” because most of us freak out and are scared.
Just…BE SAFE 🙂
On some days I would agree with you. However, you must remember that in BC our weather is much wetter and so our conditions are more hazardous.
Why are we the worst drivers in snow? Because we get the least amount of snow. Rain – sure – people are used to it. But can you blame them for being nervous when freezing rain is included in the equation?
In those places that have snow from November to April, I bet they have better city program to deal with the snow as well. It”s easier to drive when the road has actually been plowed for you.
I”m glad they”re cancelling school on the days that they are. It means I don”t have to feel bad when I can”t make the hour long drive to University due to freezing rain, sleet and snow.
In case you”re wondering – I”m quite good at driving in the snow. I”ve done my fair share of driving down country roads in the dark in slush and snow. It”s not me I”m worried about. It”s the other drivers.
Hello everyone,
Totally agree with Maryanne.I dont understand about the people who try to compare apples with oranges and i think people like Another Student…that is what they are trying to do here compare the Fraser valley with the other parts/places , which get snow from Nov to April almost every day.
They are better prepared for that and their city is looking after their roads much much better than here especially in abbotsford. Safety comes first….the life of a human being is very precious.I totally support UFV in keeping their campuses closed in treacherous conditions like this.Thank you for putting the safety first.
While I understand that we pay excess $s in fees, driving in the snow could cost someone their live – which is priceless. So, I think we should be more empathetic towards people who are afraid or nervous to drive in the snow. Yes, we aren”t as experienced, but how do you prepare yourself not to crash on black ice anyway?
Other countries have been dealing with it for years, maybe BC”s time will come too. Until then, let”s be safe, and if that means staying home during snow days – let it be.
Also, UFV should have online classes available when class based learning is cancelled. At least that we”re not getting ripped off for our money.
~ be safe 🙂
Considering there is pretty terrible public transit for anyone coming from outside of Mission – Hope, I agree with the cancellations. Many of us have to drive in, and the roads to the campus aren”t safe. Risking driving in the dark over ice covered roads, through high winds which blow the snow around, making it difficult to see, only to come to school to find it cancelled hours later is ridiculous. The school needs to consider all factors in the morning so that none of us have to deal with this.
4 days of class cancelations would be fine if we weren”t paying a lot of money to attend our classes. We pay these fees so that we can learn the material of a given class and get recognition for it. Yes, we can learn the material that will be inevitably cut form the class on our own; however, we won”t have lectures or class discusions on it. If other universities in far more inclimate regions of our country can solve this problem, why can”t BC?
I agree with the above two comments.
I went to UFV today to buy books and I was in for a shock!
1) The HWY past Aldergrove to UFV is ICY!!!
2) UFV did not salt the campus grounds, especially not the sidewalks. If a student or staff slips and hurts themselves on campus because of the snow/ ice, that”s on UFV for not salting the grounds.
3) There was an intense windstorm today that carried the snow. I opened my car door and it shut on me due to the wind.
4) The roads around UFV campus are not cleared!!!
What you see in the lower mainland is nothing compared to Abbotsford. They received about 8-10 inches of snow untouched. In the lower mainland the main roads are clear, which is why school has not been cancelled or other universities.
I drove a compact car with an all seasons tires, which brought me into shock because I thought at least the roads to UFV would have looked like the lower mainlands. There is no need for me to purchase winter tires just because the Valley did not clear their snow like the lower mainland! If they decided to open campus tomorrow, I strongly suggest you drive a 4×4 or a car with winter tires. I am going to borrow my parents SUV because driving in my car wit the weather condition up there is dangerous no matter how slow I go. Also, if you go too slow you get stuck in the snow. (: Drive safe everyone.
Maryanne is right. People here can”t drive in the snow because they don”t have to. It”s a temporary inconvenience, Another Student. Most of those places you are talking about are much more prepared to deal with snow. They have more than enough plow and salt crews. The people do not drive on summer or “all season” tires. In fact, some places it is against the law to drive without snow tires. How many people would be on the road if that were a condition here?
Fact is, many people in the Lower Mainland are not smart drivers. They are inexperienced in the snow, bad drivers to begin with, and are handling inadequate equipment. Driving to school on a regular day is risky enough, I do not want to risk my life amongst the masses to get to UFV. I have used my days away to get a head start on major projects that are due later in the semester. A couple of days of cancelled classes is not the end of the world. It”s a 14 week semester bud, chill out.
The roads are awful and extremely icy out here so for whoever says that it”s not hazardous i don”t know if i can agree with that. I have not drove my car in 3 days due to the roads. It is better safe than sorry.
My street hasn”t seen a plow since it started snowing and my car doesn”t have the proper tires to drive well on icy streets. It has nothing to do with me being a poor driver, it”s simply the conditions and what I lack to deal with them.
Statistically, you”re probably a poor driver too! lol
The upsetting thing for me here is that I personally message my teacher if her class is still on at around 10 am. Which she answered and said that she will still be teaching today and class is still in session. My class was at 11:30, when I entered my class it was completely empty…. After talking to some friends I realized classes that starts after 11:30 will be cancelled/// and that UFV will close at 1. So risking myself, and wasting gas for nothing? It”s hard not to get upset…
I don”t mind if classes are cancelled but with so little notice… after me arriving at school driving from far away..and waking up every hour or so from 6 am to check on the website wasn”t fun. I”ve decided I wont be going to class tmr, since it doesn”t look like neither students or teachers are willing to make it to class… I agree it is dangerous so why not just close the school instead of saying it”s OPEN, then saying some classes are cancelled, then saying classes after 11:30 are cancelled! then say that UFV will close at 1. I think we might as well just stay home this week,,,
I”m an excellent driver and very careful in winter conditions, I know how to drive in snow but that doesn”t mean that the roads are properly treated for these conditions 🙂 Not to mention that the transit is terrible lol. I could walk but it would take me about 2 hours to get to the university and I am not willing to do that if they end up closing early like they did yesterday!
This is outrageous. Students are meant to be paying for education. Education is what we should be getting. Sure some students have to commute to their campus from out of town. Well if that is the case then plan ahead. Look at a weather report, pay attention to the road conditions, and drive accordingly. If you know the highway is going to be icy; leave earlier and drive slower.
I feel like I”m being ripped off. Sure i can arrange meets with the prof”s, but I still am paying for 14 weeks of classes(lectures). Most classes are only once a week, hence missing one class is essentially the same as missing a whole week.
I live about a 10 min walk from the Chilliwack campus and luckily all my classes are there this semester. So naturally, I walk to my classes. On Wednesday, when I checked for the “severe” weather report in the morning, all campus” were OPEN. When I arrived for my class at 2:30, however; I found that UFV decided — halfway though the day — to CLOSE the campus”. That was infuriating.
Hey there little crybaby, did you ever think that some people maybe can”t afford winter tires? how about if you drive accordingly but some dumbass isn”t? did you ever think that other people not paying attention can cause accidents with more people than just themselves? did you ever think of reading the reasons as to WHY the university campuses aren”t closed? did you look over them and think about them for a while and understand WHY they have such terms and conditions? do you bitch that we get a god forsaken midterm break? OMG we could have a full 15 weeks if we got rid of that break! did you think about checking the university website before class? did you think there was a point to the BIG CAPITALIZED BULLETIN THAT READ “SEVERE WEATHER NOTICE” these last few days? did you think it was just for show and not emphasis that the campus may close because teachers that come from all parts of the lower mainland can”t make it? did you think “oh boy how silly of me, the campus is closed, and I did not check the website to make sure cancellations never happened mid day”? did you think of the fact that these campuses are closer to the end of the mountainous funnel that we would get it much worse than Vancouver? did you ever stop and think hey, it rarely snows here so I”m sure their snow removal budget isn”t THAT high, therefore making it more difficult to make the roads clear? are you capable of selflessly thinking, or weighing other options that other student”s or faculty may have to face? *sigh* apparently not.
Cyber-bullying at it”s finest. There was honestly no need to come at me like you did. Next time you could try a more civilized response.
I have the right to an opinion and that is where I stand on the fact that the campus” are closed. I was not being selfless, I was merely stating my own disappointment. Also I respect UFV”s decision to close down, even though I don”t like it.
Remember Cory that you only represent a very small minority of people. Many people like myself live off roads in the country side which are bizarre and covered in snowdrifts and ice. You cannot plan ahead with two feet of snow laying on the road where the little cars most of us students own cannot go through. Living near campus where all the main roads are prioritized and plowed gives you a biased view of the real situation. I work out in the country and the backroads are disaster… some are simply inaccessible because the wind from the fields just piles the snow on. I agree with the closing because I rather not drive for an hour and risk getting into a car crash where I will be losing more money than the little bit we lose with not having classes. We can drive safe all we want, but there are many crazy semi truck drivers and others out there that put us all at risk.
To those who might assume that some of us don”t get up early enough etc to get to school, is not a strong statement. I get up everyday like clock work at 5:15am and leave exactly at 6:15 to drop my kid off in Abbotsford then give myself Lots of Time to make it to class and not just because of the weather do I do this. I drive from Mission and this past week I have shown up each day that school said it was going to be open.
To find out when I get there and the other day hours later after waiting that they will be closing is completely frustrating!! I have wasted half a tank of gas and time driving for cancellations. I understand people”s frustration and concerns too coming from further distances.
So…when I now read Severe Weather Conditions, Im not going to gamble with my life on the road cuz of other drivers, my gas and time. I”d rather work on projects at home.
Oh and one more thing…If you might be thinking I probably can”t handle this weather for driving…I”m probably a little more experienced, seeing as how I was living in Fort McMurray before I came here…I know severe weather and driving conditions.
Be Safe Everyone and Use Your Own Judgment 🙂
I am getting frustrated with the possiblility of a third day of closure. Tuesday”s weather I can understand but Wednesday and Thursday”s roads were drivable for all those would could follow instructions to drive a little bit slower, keep extra distance between vehicles and add about 20-40 percent to your regular driving time.
It is really important for me to be in class, especially tonight when I was looking forward to some one-to-one time with my instructor. A meeting worth an extra 30 minutes to arrive at school safe. Why not leave the offer open-ended for fauclty to attend if they wish and have an individual or two be in charge of closing the school. This way all the students who were willing and able could have made their own decision whether they wanted to arrive in class, hence getting value for teh education they”ve overpaid for. Teachers joke all the time about “I know you would like to leave class early tonight,” but this is not the case with all students, some actually want to be in class for the full length of posted class times.
I have to head to work now so I can pay for my hard-earned tuition which may be giving me NO BANG FOR MY BUCK TODAY. Hey where can I get a refund? Now there is some motivation for re-opening!
Cancel classes if you must. Student and staff safety should be a consideration but please make the decision in a timely manner. We can all check the weather reports, wind and blowing advisories and check out road conditions on drive BC and make an informed decision. Just wondering why UFV admin can”t do the same? Providing notice that classes are cancelled @ 8:15 am on Tuesday and 1pm on Thursday because instructors have chosen not to show up is inexcusable. This was much too late for anyone already on the road. Many students did make the journey at some personal peril because it was posted that the UFV was open only to find classes cancelled upon arrival. This is not good enough! Get it together UFV! Other institutions both public and private seem to have a severe weather protocol and it isn”t left up to the “professional” vagaries of individual instructors. This is so Mickey Mouse!
Your link to the severe weather page at the bottom of your post is broken.
Like the last commenter said, Mickey Mouse.
My apologies, the severe weather procedures link has been fixed.
Remember Cory that you only represent a very small minority of people. Many people like myself live off roads in the country side which are bizarre and covered in snowdrifts and ice. You cannot plan ahead with two feet of snow laying on the road where the little cars most of us students own cannot go through. Living near campus where all the main roads are prioritized and plowed gives you a biased view of the real situation. I work out in the country and the backroads are disaster… some are simply inaccessible because the wind from the fields just piles the snow on. I agree with the closing because I rather not drive for an hour and risk getting into a car crash where I will be losing more money than the little bit we lose with not having classes. We can drive safe all we want, but there are many crazy semi truck drivers and others out there that t risk.
The person who has made the decision to close the campus today must be very frustrated right now. The outcry of the masses yesterday clearly led to the closure of the campuses and today they are probably just trying to play it safe.
Although when I found out that campuses were closed today I was a little confused, since the roads have finally been plowed where I live and I personally would have little issue making it to the school.
What people need to understand is that the campus isn”t open or closed based on what you personally see outside of your window, a decision is made based on collective conditions.
Also, just because the campus is open, it doesn”t mean that you should deem your personal commute safe and attempt to make it in when you know that it isn”t – professors who take attendance will understand. If you miss a lesson, I”m sure your prof will be more than willing to make it up another time or during their office hours. Try being a problem solver before you jump to conclusions, and make decisions for your own personal safety ( as suggested by UFV) before you head out on OPEN campus days.
This isn”t hard people, get it together.
This is getting very frustrating, I need to register for a class for the passed 4 days. I have no idea what to do, everytime i call the registeration office it is closed…Its snow deal with it people around the world get more snow than us and still go to school. I need to go buy a book because i cant do my homework without the code. This is really getting annoying and I want to go to class because I have a 3 hour class and my final is coming up. And how are students supposed to pay for class when the last day for paying is JAN 24?
not a final a midterm,
Everyone can argue that we”re being ripped off, I feel that way too… but I also live in the back of mission and I work on top of school full time. The city plowed the main road up here but didn”t get to my road for days. So if I wanted to get to school, which is the trades campus, I would be looking at not only my drive way shoveling, which is super long, but the road also. Do I feel cheapened by this week of no school? Yeah, is it worth risking my life trying to get to school, back to work and back home to get the small amount of sleep I do get. Not really. Read ahead, get as much work that you can do on your own, done. Prof”s usually or upon request, can give you work via a web link. Snow is not the end of the world and compromises can always be found to ensure safety and contnued studies.
🙂 Play nice everybody!
They can”t leave the campus open just for a few people. They need to have the security staff there, plus they legally have to have the walkways and parking lots clear. Therefore they can”t simply leave it in the hands of a few people to just “lock up when they”re done” so to speak.
As for not being able to pay tuition in time, you can pay at your bank. That”s what I”ve always done and will continue to do. I”ve never had any issue with it, and don”t understand why everyone always waits in the huge line to do so.
Just enjoy that were getting a break and that today they were responsible enough to close the school first thing in the morning.
Best comment yet >.< I agree.
For those of you, above, who are complaining about “wasting” money because classes are cancelled, sorry, but just because classes are cancelled doesn”t mean you can”t do work. Haven”t you taken an online class before? If you”re not IN class doesn”t mean you that you can”t be reading up on topics and doing assignments. Snow days don”t equal sitting on your butt all day doing nothing.
Everyone calm down. Have a mug of hot chocolate and use your common sense. You may be fine getting into your classes but stop and have a little think about everyone else. That”s what UFV has to do when they make the decision to close. In Chilliwack, not only was a large section of Vedder Rd. closed, wind conditions yesterday created a complete white out on Evans Rd. and across the Sumas flats. If you had driven in it, you would have understood the closure as well. So get out your books, study and be grateful that you”ve had an early reading break!
Easy there, Facebook generation. I know you”ve all grown up complaining online, but this is a little sad. Life puts in a little speedbump here and there, no need to freak out. I”m sure your profs will dedicate a little extra time to you later in the semester if you need it. Everyone just chill.
To me, the worst thing about our biannual snowfall is the droves of smug, sanctimonious self-proclaimed “good winter drivers” who come out of the woodwork and feign to be perplexed as to why people in Abbotsford, where it snows twice a year, usually for half a day at a time, don”t deal with it as well as those in places where there is snow on the ground for 4 months straight. As for the roads being drivable on Wednesday, the Abbotsford PD reported whiteout conditions on Highway 1 across Sumas Prairie, as well as on Highway 11. They recommended people “stay home.” Maybe they should”ve asked Chad D. instead.
http://ow.ly/i/q6ft
I am old compared to where most of you are at. I live where the roads are quite narrow and sloped beautifully so that when you slide, you nicely bury your entire vehicle – yes, even those gorgeous and expensive 4×4 SUVs which go through the 4 foot drifts just fine but slide on ice the same as the civics and versas do (actually worse) – in the ditches. I am originally from Agassiz, where the conditions are generally just a little worse even than Chilliwack and Abbotsford, sometimes Mission. After being caught in blizzards in Sumas Prairie in my old VW Rabbit, battling snowdrifts taller than my car, having a completely unavoidable head-on crash in ice and fog (well, avoidable only if I had wisely called in to work and been safely at home), and more, after more than 25 years of driving, I can tell you all that I appreciate that my daughter does not have to go to class in this. No amount of time can make up for unpassable roads. No job or education is worth risking your life and the lives of your passengers and other drivers. The city employees do a great job with the tools they have. It”s not their fault the snow melts after moving some of it and causes ice patches, or that the road they cleaned a half hour earlier has drifts taller than their snowplow blades. They can”t be everywhere at once. Enjoy your snow days. Get ahead on what you can. Pay your fees with online banking. Stay healthy enough and uninjured so you can go back when your class is open. Many of you are wise enough to have figured this out. The rest of you, I hope you do before you get hurt.
Ok, a quick, unedited note; the conditions at UFV Abbotsford are bad, yes I agree. In Chilliwack they are much worse, I have snow up to my window, it feels like -26 out and about 15-20% of the people have automobiles suitable (i.e. not sovered above the hood in snow oreven ice, and with 4X4). Get a life if you think all the Chilliwack students are going to drive to Abbotsford when the province is advising us not to use the highway, even after we can”t even get to it because we have been trapped without power in our own homes unable to get anywhere for DAYS. Think about that before you winge about the week your missing and all the money that your losing, which amounts to about 20 bucks a class.
Since when did UFV students start caring about being ripped off so much?
Each referendum after referendum, UFV students approve fee increases by UFV Student Union Society.
Look closely at your tuition.
$30 so that they can pay the UFV SUS staff to sit around and charge for U-Pass, SUS Building etc.
$35 for a building to be used by SUS.
$3 UFV SUS Radio Station Fee (seriously who listens to radio anymore)
$4.50 UFV SUS Cascade Newspaper Fee (does anyone even bother)
$40 U-Pass fee
$x.xx Health and Dental Plan by SUS
BC Law states that the Student Union needs a referendum for fee increases, but most students don”t bother to go online and vote?
Maybe they voted No, but how to verify when no one takes an interest?
Its time to axe the SUS completely. Waste of time and money.
Also if you are a part-time student in a degree program, you have to pay all the above fees. It is not tied to the number of credits/courses you take.
-Anonymous for obvious reasons.
Before you go an try to say that we need SUS, remember that UFV provides most of the services themselves, i.e. Student Services/Student Life/Athletics
And for that I believe that there is a Ancillary Fees charge.
Ancillary fees are tied to the number of credits/courses you take, so atleast it is fair in some sense.
There is nothing you can do to reduce this fee.
But there is something you can do about the fees I mentioned in the previous post.
It is the university of the FRASER VALLEY. Therefore, all regions need to be taken in to account when making a decision regarding school being open. Some people wish for a solution, I mean the schools east of us can all do it, why can”t we? That”s because the vast majority of those schools aren”t commuter campus”! We are a commuter campus and everyone needs to drive to get here. Sometimes the conditions are bad and people can”t make it. Also, stop complaining about tuition and check out some other school tuition rates.
Well I cant say anything for the drivers because I do not drive, I live a 15 minute walk from the college and am blessed that way. I am not oblivious to the weather conditions for drivers. One person cannot say to “leave earlier” and “pay attention to road conditions”. I am not so ignorant to say that people need to do that but I am aware that all sides of everyone argument here is a valid complaint to one extent or another.
Of course our education is VERY important and personally I have worked so hard to get back to school after a 10 year leave, but school is not more important than my life. If I were a driver Id be OK with the school being closed because then there is no worry about not getting to class and not hearing the prof lecture on something that MIGHT of MIGHT not be on the exam.
Yes, as paying students we are (outraged is a harsh word) upset at the week”s closing of the sch but I also agree that the roads, in some areas of the map, are too bad to drive. If we thought about others as much as we thought about ourselves this might look like a much nicer thread and not like a bunch of whining teenagers who aren”t getting what they want and throwing an “e-temper tantrum”
What a joke closed again??? C”mon I”ve been driving around Chilliwack all week and out to Abbotsford with no problems this is ridiculous. I have lived in Edmonton for four years and a spent a year in Quebec city and we went to work EVERYDAY and it was these conditions from October to April every year.. pffft
Complain now… http://www.flickr.com/photos/ufv/6727692069/in/set-72157628945062459/
Actually school is closed because of a bizarre rash of suicides that have occured on the campus grounds in Chilliwack. Something also to with a Satanic ritual or Black Mass or sorts… Weird! 🙂
The announcement reads that all UFV Fraser Valley locations are closed for today. Are there any non-Fraser Valley UFV locations?
Jake, yes we offer a Bachelor of Business Admin program in Chandigarh, India. They are not affected by our snow closures so we”re having to start specifying ”Fraser Valley” locations!
Hahaha. Thanks Ms Russell, I didn”t know that! I wonder what the average annual snowfall in Chandigarh is? lol. What would a prof in India say if a student came to them and said they missed class because of the snow closures! Haha!
In Chandigarh it”s been in the mid-teens, mostly sunny with patches of heavy fog. I imagine classes went on as usual.
To all the people who think they are “so good at driving in these conditions,” some of us aren”t as experienced as you when it comes to driving in snowy/icy conditions. And we are very sorry for that, I”m from the lower mainland, and I”m terrible at driving in snow; Why? Because its my first time driving in snowy/icy conditions. In this part of BC we don”t normally have weather like this, all of you who live inland or used to live inland are used to weather like this (good for you). I already crashed my car yesterday trying to get to school so I am VERY thankful that UFV closed campuses today. Lets all just be happy that we are alive and healthy, and have the ability to argue about silly things like this. <3
Holy Crybaby Batman…this thread is full of lawlz
Hopefully there will be class next week. Drive safe everyone 🙂