Champaign should focus on severe weather,not Unofficial. After having repeatedly witnessed pedestrians on Green Street and around campus bite the pavement on Monday, nearly a week after severe winter storms hit the area, it has occurred to me that the policies of the City of Champaign are not exactly where they should be. The city, the University and Mayor Schweighart were all very hard at work setting legislation and enacting policies in regards to the upcoming Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day, while for several days, a majority of streets remained untouched by snowplows, creating an unnecessary hazard for motorists and pedestrians alike. However, even more appalling is the glaring problem of unshoveled walkways on campus and around the community, which have resulted in several injuries and continue to threaten the public safety of area residents and students. If the city can find it in their hearts to fine underage drinkers $290 or $30 for a parking ticket, it can certainly use that extra revenue to ensure that the streets and sidewalks are safe for everyone, even if it means fining negligent store owners or landlords for not clearing sidewalks of days-old ice and snow. The manner in which the city responded to last week’s winter storms was simply unacceptable and wouldn’t pass as competent in a first or even second-tier city; perhaps if Champaign used some common sense and devoted its time and resources to issues that actually matter rather than mess with something it can hardly control, these problems would be taken care of much sooner and wipeouts would occur on the way home from the bars, not on the way to class.

Chris Bergsvik

Senior, Aviation Human Factors