My name is Jenna, and I am a Sophomore at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Recently, in the volatile weather of Wisconsin, I have noticed a trend happening here. As many already know, Wisconsin can have some pretty rough winter storms that come on suddenly and harshly. Each time this happens, I sit in my dorm and scroll through twitter and news articles, watching school after school in the area close. I check the UW Madison website, twitter pages, and my email. Nothing. Nothing about school being cancelled, nothing about virtual options, not even a mention of the winter weather. As a native Wisconsinite, I know how to dress for winter weather. I get dressed in my snow-mobile suit, and head to my class across campus. During my walk I see students dressed in only sweatshirts, jeans, and sneakers, struggling not to slip on the sidewalks. I see buses stuck in the snow, unable to turn the corner, accompanied by police cars and sirens. I see unsalted roads and sidewalks. Just today (February 16th, 2023) I saw a kid laying on the sidewalk surrounded by paramedics because he slipped on the ice and broke his arm.  If this is not enough to close school, then what is? How many broken arms, bruised butts, frostbitten fingers, crashed cars, and stuck buses will it take for UW Madison to realize that this is an unsafe environment for students to be traveling to class in? This is why a change needs to be made. 

     UW Madison needs to reevaluate its protocol when it comes to winter weather conditions. College costs a lot of money, energy, and time. I agree that education is important. In fact, I believe in person learning is more effective than virtual learning, but not when it puts the wellbeing of thousands of students in danger. This is why I believe there should be a virtual option during these conditions. If there is one good thing COVID brought us, it was the opportunity to continue learning in an effective and safe way from our own homes. UW Madison was able to quickly adapt to fully online learning during the pandemic, in the interest of student safety. Why is this not a tool we are using for other safety concerns. This is a resource we need to be using to our advantage. In 2023, we are all expected to have some sort of device to do our homework on, whether it's through Canvas, Cengage, or other online learning tools, so there should be no issue in holding virtual classes the 3-5 days a year that there is severe weather. 

     If nobody speaks up, then no change will be made. I am asking YOU, UW Madison students, UW Madison Staff, UW Madison alumni, UW Madison friends, UW Madison parents, to come together as a community to make this necessary change to keep our students safe. With the help of this petition, I plan to bring this issue up the chain and demand the priority of safety for students. With your help and support, I believe we can make this change happen.