Editor's Soapbox: Ice at MSU: The Cold Truth

For those of you who have not yet realized, life is one big, vicious cycle: excitement for something new and fun followed by disappointment when it doesn’t live up to expectations. This cycle is a constant factor in our lives, and nearly all experiences can be analyzed within the context of expectations vs. reality. However, one particular past incident has been stuck in my mind since the beginning of the spring semester.

I was a junior in high school, and an astounding tidal wave of college mail was flying into my mailbox. One particular university’s mail stood out to me in the slowly growing pile: Montana State University. Aside from its close location to my family and strong computer science program, MSU also boasted many exciting outdoor activities nearby. None of my friends who grew up with me in southern Illinois had ever heard of fly fishing, skiing (without a boat on a lake) or hiking on anything other than flat ground. Needless to say, I was ecstatic to attend school in Montana, and my expectations were high.

Now for the disappointing reality of the situation. Here I am, working through my final winter as a student at MSU and averaging roughly seven dramatic falls on MSU’s icy sidewalks each year. My initial excitement for MSU’s promised winter wonderland? Dead as a dodo bird.

Don’t get me wrong: MSU does a terrific job overall keeping campus functional during the winter months. However, there is still one thing on campus that has turned my soul into a pit almost as cold and dark as MSU’s sidewalks. I don’t even know the actual name for them. I am referring to the machines that drive through campus with massive spinning brushes on the front, carrying awesome names like “SNO WAY” as they attempt to clear snow from walkways… yet ultimately only polishing the layer of ice sitting below the snow.

Snow is a wonderful blessing. That being said, WHY IN THE WORLD ARE WE POLISHING THE ICE?! Campus is bad enough during these cold winter months. We should not be taking something slippery and making it worse. The tread on our shoes is able to grip snow to get us from point A to point B without making a fool of ourselves. Ice, on the other hand, renders our shoes useless.

I can only imagine the look on the faces of the administrators sitting high up in their heated Montana Hall offices as they look out the window at students waddling from class to class.

I can almost hear the ensuing laughter when one of the students slips and sends books and homework flying in all directions.

I am a proud part of this university. I will not, however, sit quietly and allow MSU to remove useful snow from campus. For the safety of all students at MSU, I urge you to petition our administration to repurpose these dastardly spinning brushes of death. Maybe they could be in a demolition derby or scrubbers in extreme curling. The extra revenue could even go toward finally repairing the remainder of the gym.