Jan. 21 and 22 were a bit chilly. 

Well, more than a bit. 

Temperatures dipped below zero as frigid wind chills swept across parts of northeastern Ohio. 

The night before, students posted on Yik Yak, hoping classes would be canceled. I was hoping for the same, of course. 

But there’s an adage at Ashland University: Ashland never cancels. 

And it turned out to be true. Everything ran as normal. 

I remember the morning of Jan. 21. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I co-host the Early Bird’s Word on 88.9 WRDL. 

I left my apartment around 6:30 a.m., bundled up to brave the cold. 

Walking from the senior apartments to the Center for the Arts building isn’t far—it takes about six or seven minutes. 

In those few minutes, my hands went numb, my nose ran, and my body shivered nonstop. 

Once inside the building, I decided to check the weather for the day because I felt frozen entering the WRDL studio.  

On Jan. 21, the high was 8 degrees and the low was minus 8, with a 12-mph wind chill. 

According to the National Weather Service, standing outside at that temperature for just over 10 minutes can result in frostbite. 

Let’s be honest: a common rebuttal to canceling classes is that students need to wear appropriate clothing or spend less time outside. 

But think about the average college student—do they always use their best judgment? The answer is no. I’m a college student, and I don’t always use mine. 

It’s also hard to avoid being outside entirely when students must walk across campus to get to class, to grab food or make it to practice if the student is an athlete.  

This led me to a few questions: 

Who decides to cancel classes at AU? At what point does the temperature become too severe for classes to continue? 

On those two days, multiple universities decided to close or move to virtual learning. 

Ohio State University closed its campus, while the University of Akron switched to virtual classes due to the freezing temperatures. 

According to the AU website, under its emergency communication plan: “The president or the provost of the university may implement modified work schedules, changes to class schedules and/or the discontinuation of classes altogether as needed.” 

So, is it the AU president or the provost who cancels classes? Because according to the policy, it could be either. 

That isn’t very clear. 

Additionally, the policy does not define “severe weather” or specify the temperature threshold that would justify canceling classes.

So when would the university cancel classes—or need to—if there’s no defined reasoning in place? 

The university should have canceled classes on Jan. 21 and 22 for the safety of students, staff, and faculty. 

It should also consider revising the policy to clarify how decisions are made and ensure the campus community understands the process and decide on who has the ultimate authority to cancel classes.