Several letters have been written to the Daily Illini criticizing the University’s response to the recent “blizzard.” A letter on February 14 scoffed at the University’s treatment of employees, especially the University’s demand that employees use a vacation day if they did not report to work. Point well taken.

However, the writer failed to acknowledge the University’s decision to pay employee’s a full days wages even if the employee only worked one hour. It isn’t often that workers, in academics or otherwise, are paid for work they didn’t do.

Additionally, other writers have eloquently spoken of the risks students face when walking to and from class in such abominable conditions. Is it really asking too much for students to walk a few blocks from their dorm room to the Quad?

I know those pesky stop lights and stop signs slow down the journey, and a bit of wind to the face may seem uncomfortable, but the line outside of Kam’s seems to grow longer with more inclement weather (notice the two keg carrying students in the February 14th edition of the Daily Illini?) As for the snow, it’s nice when all that beautiful whiteness is pushed out of our paths so we don’t damage our one-hundred dollar suede fur boots that seem to be the rage, but is it really asking too much to walk through a few inches of unimpacted snow?

We currently have soldiers who are climbing through the snow-capped mountains of Afghanistan, spending week-after-week in blizzard-like conditions in the Hindu Kush mountain range with little more than a tent and a sleeping bag. Here at home, we all sleep in our cozy dorm rooms and apartments eagerly awaiting the next episode of South Park.

Thomas Ayala

graduate student