Monday, November 29, 1993

IN CASE OF SNOW:  When a snowstorm hits, turn on the radio.  Don't phone
the university switchboard, which will be too busy already.  That's the
official advice in UW's annual advisory on storm procedure (although if 
the 1993 pattern continues, all the snow is going to come on Saturdays 
anyway).

Any decision to close the university is made by the president or provost, 
and announced to news media by the university's news bureau.  No one other 
than the news bureau is authorized to call the media, and local radio and 
TV have been asked not to pay attention to other calls.

A campus closing will also be posted to UWinfo, the campus-wide
electronic information system, by the internal communications office. Look 
for this Daily Bulletin, or look for "Flash" on the main UWinfo menu 
if an emergency comes up after the Bulletin is issued in mid-morning.

If the weather gets bad during the working day, classes can be cancelled
or the campus closed entirely.  This decision would be made during the day
and announced as soon as it's made, with phone calls to departments across
campus plus messages to the outside media and through UWinfo.

At other times, such as an overnight storm, the president or provost will 
cancel classes when the Waterloo County Board of Education announces that all
its schools are closed. Media will be informed as early as possible (before
8 a.m.). UW follows the school board's lead in these cases because the board
has a longstanding system for evaluating weather conditions and announcing its
decision. In such cases, UW classes -- including those in the evening -- will
be cancelled along with all non-essential services.  Non-essential staff will 
not be expected to come to work.

Examinations that are scheduled on the day or the evening of a closing 
because of bad weather will be cancelled and rescheduled according to 
university policy.

It's worth adding that some services, such as the UW police (888-4911),
continue around the clock and around the calendar, regardless of weather.
"Essential" staff in those areas, and people responsible for seeing that
students in residence don't go hungry, have their own arrangements.

TODAY'S MAIL:  Briefly from this morning's in-basket:

  The faculty association will hold its fall general meeting on
  Wednesday, December 8, at 2:30 p.m. in Physics room 145.

  There will be a "vigil" this Friday -- the fourth anniversary of
  the shootings that killed 14 women at Ecole Polytechnique in
  Montreal.  The vigil bvegins at 5 p.m. in Davis Centre room 1351
  and is organized by the gender issues board of the Federation of
  Students.

  The drama department continues its "seat sale", offering donors 
  the chance of a brass plaque on any seat in the Theatre of the
  Arts in return for a $100 contribution to the theatre's renovation.
  Information: ext. 4556.

Chris Redmond
Information and Public Affairs
credmond@watserv1    ext. 3004