No cancellations for IU

Much to their dismay, students awoke Monday morning not only with several inches of snow still lingering on the ground but with their class schedules still intact for the day. With another 2 to 3 inches possible today, students are getting used to the slippery conditions.\nBloomington residents and IU students went about their normal routines Monday as if the snow was little to worry about. Many walked outside to find much of the snow had been cleared overnight.\nIU Police Department Lt. Jerry Minger said little change was seen not only on IU's campus, but on the roads and throughout the rest of Bloomington as well.\n"There really weren't an inordinate amount of accidents," Minger said. "Since it was the weekend, there was less of a chance people would be on the road because when it snows they tend to stay inside."\nIn an accident report for Sunday and Monday, Minger noticed only two accidents had been reported, both of which came after midnight.\n"Traffic has been a pretty steady flow for the most part," he said. "Usually the weather does not play a huge factor in driving conditions unless there are ice storms or heavy wind. The heavy snow mainly causes some slick pavement."\nAccording to the IU Electronics Department weather page, IU received .13 inches of snow after midnight Sunday. That gave the plows plenty of time to clear streets and sidewalks overnight and ensure classes could continue, Minger said.\nFreshman Chris Ford said the snow played only a small factor in class attendance Monday.\n"A lot of kids just came to class a little later," Ford said. "It was a pretty small class anyway, but still, almost everyone was there."\nFord, who is from Magic City, Minn., said the biggest difference between the conditions, here and those in his hometown is the way drivers handle the weather.\n"People really just don't know how to drive in these conditions here," Ford said. "In Minneapolis, there would be plows right away at the first sign of snow, but here, they wait a lot longer to start. Also, the snow here is a lot more wet, slushy and gross and doesn't pile up as badly."\nThough the weather did not cause many problems for IU, it did play a large role for the rest of the community. Several schools had delayed openings, and churches were forced to cancel regularly scheduled Sunday services. For the most part, IU bus routes ran smoothly and helped ensure students could go about their daily routines, Dispatch Supervisor Barb Clark said.\n"The snow probably made us a little late, and we were a little off schedule most of the day," Clark said. "There's really no way to prepare for this sort of a thing. It's really just up to the people who take care of the streets."\nClark said she received few calls regarding the status of the buses between Sunday and Monday. She said the city and campus combined did a good job clearing the snow.\n"The better the roads, the better we can operate," Clark said. "When the snow falls it really depends on what time the plows go out and how long they're out for, and everyone did a great job."\nOther activities around campus continued in the weather. The Student Activities Office said it was not aware of any changes in scheduling.\nBut the bad weather may be just beginning. According to www.weather.com, Bloomington is set to receive more mixed rain and snow showers Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday.\nFor information on weather-related closings at IU, visit emergency.iub.edu.