"I can't forget the hat!" said Youngshim Hwang '13 as she bundled up to go outside in yesterday morning's snow.
Hwang was impressed that the sidewalks were clean even after the Wednesday snowstorm.
"The whole sidewalk was clean," she said. "I just walked to class as if there was no snow."
According to Director of Facilities Operations & Maintenance Ted Stam, the main campus walks and driveways are plowed by in-house staff with College equipment.
"We figure out plowing by virtue of our years of experience," wrote Stam in an e-mail to the Orient.
He also noted that the Facilities staff who plow the main campus are mostly from the Grounds Department.
"Most of them are hourly employees and they are paid overtime if the plowing occurs during overtime hours," he wrote. "They are sometimes assisted by staff from the Motor Pool."
In addition, shoveling and tending to building entrances is handled by grounds staff, housekeeping staff and volunteers.
"This is hard work since snow is sometimes extremely heavy and areas need to be shoveled and cleaned several times during bigger storms," wrote Stam.
Stam wrote that contractors plow some of the outlying properties and that "this work is competitively bid" for.
According to Stam, while the College has a budget for plowing, it is sometimes difficult to meet it because "it is hard to predict the number of storms, time of storms, changes to rain, icing, freeze-thaws, material and fuel costs, etc."
"Efforts are being made to cut costs; however, not at the expense of access or safety. Rather, we try to be more efficient. Staff working during weather emergencies are compensated appropriately," Stam wrote. "Our primary reason for weather emergencies is employee safety, not cost savings."
Some students have wondered why the diagonal paths on the Quad are not plowed.
"The diagonals on the quad are not plowed to save staff time and money as well as to reduce equipment use and minimize emissions," wrote Stam.
"Less salt and sand minimizes environmental impact and lawn damage," he added. "Less vehicle traffic reduces root compaction which can significantly hamper tree growth."
"This was started many years ago and students and staff have been very understanding," wrote Stam.