Princeton says no injuries due to ice, but students report falling

The University is not aware of any injuries caused as a result of the sheets of ice that have covered sidewalks around campus after several snowstorms hit the east coast over the last few weeks, according to University Spokesperson Martin Mbugua. However,several students reported suffering falls while walking around campus.

Mackenzie Blanz ’17 noted that the adjustment period was especially rough for students accustomed to riding bicycles.

“Riding my bike in the snow probably wasn’t a good idea,” Blanz said. “I didn’t get injured, but even in full snow boots, I slipped. It gets pretty hairy up here.”

Returning home from the Street has become even more perilous than before, William Guiracoche ’17 said.

“When I was leaving Terrace, my friend slipped once and I tried to catch her,” Guiracoche noted. “She slipped again and I got a little concerned. And then the guy walking behind her slipped on the exact same spot.”

For some students, the hostile weather is a considerable change from back home. Whether the last several days’ weather is expected in New Jersey or an anomaly is still a mystery to Mallory Banks ’16, a native of Charleston, S.C.

“It happens to everyone,” Banks said. “Get up, sprinkle some Morton salt on that ground and continue to strut.”

Banks is a former staff writer for the Street section of The Daily Princetonian.

Considering the injuries that Princeton students reported recently, Tomi Johnson ’16 said “it hurts your ego more than anything.”Josh Taliaferro ’15 added that Johnson’s statement amused him, noting that most people whom he had seen fall on the ice completely ignored offers of help from nearby Princetonians.

Snowstorms have been a continued threat on campus since the start of the second semester;classes were cancelled altogether on Feb. 5, and non-essential employees were told not to report for work on Feb. 13 and on Feb. 3, even though no classes were cancelled via the registrar.

The pattern of cold weather started even before the start of this semester. Temperatures reached a low of 2 degrees on Jan. 7, and the first snowfall occurred the week before winter break.

Clarissa Lotson ’16 explained how, when walking to a pre-Bicker dinner on Dec. 9, she flipped backward and fell on her behind. After realizing that she couldn’t walk at a normal pace, she and her friends called Public Safety, who sent an ambulance. Paramedics in the ambulance informed her that she had broken her tailbone.

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“The P-safe lady said, ‘careful with the ice!’ ” Lotson said. “It’s a very common thing to say to watch out for the ice and you don’t take it as seriously as you should. I am so much more careful now.”