Students struggled to get to class on time in their first weeks of classes, not because they forgot to set their alarms for the new semester but because they returned to campus to find their parking spots filled with snow and ice. 

Although temperatures are beginning to rise, mounds of snow and patches of ice remain in the university’s lots over three weeks after Huntington’s first snow day of 2025. 

Jim Terry, the Marshall director of public safety, said the duration of this snowstorm made it difficult to fully clear the lots prior to students’ arrival.

“We had a weather event we haven’t had in years,” Terry said. “When it started, we started talking about whether we let it snow, push it and let it sleet right on top of it, but then we’d have a solid sheet of ice. So, we decided to wait until the event was over.”

As for the lots’ maintenance, Terry said a hired contractor plowed the lots and performed multiple hot washes on problem areas throughout the first two weeks of classes. The leftover snow, he said, could not be removed due to parked cars and not having another location to dispose of it.

While he felt the contractor did well for his first time being hired by the university, Terry also addressed ways in which he could improve.

“We rode around every lot, showed him the things that I felt he needed to change or could help us with – one is we’re not pushing snow into those handicapped spots anymore,” he said.

Although many of the handicapped spots were covered in ice, Terry said disabled drivers could park in any other available spot in the lots.

Terry said that all drivers should take their personal safety into consideration in the event of severe weather.

“We make it as safe as we can,” he said, “but, then again, even the weather policy says you make the choice of whether your safety comes first, and you have to make that decision.”

Along with safety concerns, the snow also created general parking issues. Of 430 students polled by The Parthenon on Jan. 15, 92.6 percentsaid the snow made it more difficult to park on campus in the first week of classes.

However, Terry said the parking “problem” comes from drivers expecting to park in the same spot daily, not from overselling parking passes or having a limited number of spaces. 

“When I give advice, I tell them either buy a garage permit – the garage is never full, you’re always going to have a space – or drive directly to the stadium,” he said.

By purchasing a parking permit, students not only have access to all lots on campus but also fund the maintenance of these lots, such as snow plowing, Terry added.

Baylee Parsons can be contacted at [email protected].