Katie Ward, Staff Writer

Problems with the inclement weather policy and overall confusion amongst the students has prompted the Student Government Association (SGA) to create legislation to improve the current weather policy.

Student Body President, Fernando Little, addressed two resolutions intended to be achieved by the SGA.

The first of these changes states that when Watauga County is in a state of emergency, Appalachian State should act accordingly, either by delaying or cancelling classes.
 
The second resolution involves working to improve the lines of communication between the administration and the students, regarding the weather.

Although the specifics are still being addressed, Little has put the administraiton on the look-out for the upcoming legislation.

Expanding on Little’s thoughts, Student Affairs Chair, Stacey Bem, addressed several additional problems.

“When Watauga County is under curfew, how can they expect students to get to class?” Bem asked.

According to Bem, the past snow-fall brought more inconveniences than just slippery roads.

Students dialed Appalachian’s snow line for an hour without getting answers to their questions, Bem said.
 
The news stations also broadcast cancellations for the university and then retracted the cancellations.
 
Bem also expressed students’ frustrations after arriving to class only to find that their professors were not there.

These inconveniences from the last snowfall, along with students’ individual complaints to the SGA, prompted the possibility of ammending the policy, said Bem.

“You never address problems until a crisis occurs,” Bem said.

Although the chancellor has the ability to cancel classes, it is up to the governor to decide whether the university will close as a whole.

Therefore, the SGA will do everything that they are capable of doing to improve the policy, Bem said.

Some suggestions involve ensuring students that sidewalks and stairways will be clear when class is in session.

The possibility of a delay system is also being discussed by Bem’s committee.

Incorporating the Telephone Registration System (TRS) is another a possibility, Bem said.
 
If accepted and approved by the administration, students will be able to call into the TRS, enter their student number and determine whether their individual classes have been canceled.

“I think that the system will be able to accomodate this,” Bem said.

Although the SGA has only begun to look into altering the current policy, they hope to have legislation written and passed by the Student Senate at the end of March, Bem said.

University officials were unavailable for comment.
                                                                                        

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