Adams should apologize to injured, harmed students

I was truly disappointed reading University President Michael Adams’ Wednesday column, “Many factors influence University decisions.” Our president not only did not apologize for recklessly endangering the lives of students by holding classes on a day when most of the disaster relief didn’t even start yet, he also downplayed the sort of dangers students faced.

He writes that he regrets that “individuals were inconvenienced.” There were widespread reports of bruises, fractures and dislocations.

A girl in one class of mine had her hand bleeding from a fall. These are not inconveniences – they are the consequences of you making this truly callous decision to hold classes before the campus was safe again.

I am ashamed of President Adams. I was raised to apologize when my actions hurt other people. He obviously was not raised the same way.

Zaid Jilani
Senior, Kennesaw
International Affairs

Adams’ comments arrogant, ignorant

Michael Adams’ statements in Wednesday’s edition of The Red & Black are simply ignorant, and downright arrogant. None of the reasons Adams gives for having classes makes logical sense.

How in the world can a responsible, educated human being make a decision to have class 12 hours earlier than protocol calls for? This means that they made a decision at 6 p.m. on Monday, before the sun even went down.

Are our University leaders really too dumb to realize that water freezes when the temperature goes below 32 degrees? Are our University leaders really too dumb to realize that temperatures got into the low 20s overnight when they woke up on Tuesday morning? Are our University leaders really too arrogant to re-evaluate and change their decision at 6 a.m. Tuesday, the time they were supposed to make a decision in the first place?

Adams says they made the decision earlier so that people could make preparations. Well, it would not be the end of the world if those preparations went to waste for the safety of students and faculty. They could have easily changed their mind Tuesday morning.

Adams says, “I think most 19-year-olds are capable of maneuvering through a little ice and snow, and I can tell you that thousands of them did [Monday] when the University was closed because I saw them out.”

Is Adams really too ignorant to realize that this was snow people were playing, and maneuvering around in, not solid sheets of ice? It would have been far more safe to have classes Monday afternoon than Tuesday morning.

I just don’t get it.

Eric Matthews
Junior, Atlanta
Business