In the largest winter storm in years, the Boston area received a whopping 23.2 inches of snow from Sunday, Jan. 25 into Monday, Jan. 26. This total ranks across the highest on record for the city.
At a press conference on Monday, Mayor Michelle Wu announced a snow emergency and the cancellation of schools and urged Bostonians not to go outside unless absolutely necessary.
In an article from the Boston Globe, reporter Katarina Schmeiszer wrote that Boston has spent months laying the groundwork and is equipped with tons of salt, numerous snow-clearing resources and contractors ready to be deployed in the event of an emergency.
Simmons University itself has extensive protocols that it follows to prepare for potential weather.
Laura Brink Pisinski, Vice President of University Real Estate Development and Facilities Management, said in an email that Simmons monitors impending storms through MEMA and that the Facilities team has a variety of snow clearing products and plowing services on hand.
Despite these preparations, Simmons is not immune to problems caused by weather. The aftermath of Sunday’s snowstorm was complete with icy and snowy sidewalks.
Much like the irritation displayed by students through various posts on YikYak on Tuesday as they stepped outside their dorms and surveyed the state of the campus, there was a similar amount of outrage in the winter of 2025 from the student body about an ice patch covering the sidewalk outside of Simmons Hall.
Stella McLaughlin, a third-year Psychology and Women and Gender Studies student, recalls being frustrated after the ice created accessibility problems by blocking the ramp entrance to Simmons Hall and called 311, the Boston Public Works service line.
“I had class three days in that week and I couldn’t go to class at all,” McLaughlin recalled. “I was in contact with Public Safety for multiple days. I would call them, and they were like, ‘no, that’s not our responsibility, that’s the city’s job.’”
Brink Pisinski spoke on the citation Simmons received as a result of the icy conditions and took ownership for the shortcomings of her department.
“This is an area that [Brightview Landscaping] was slated to plow and sand,” Brink Pisinski said in an email statement. “They were doing their best to keep up with the conditions and this section was missed. We addressed it immediately and remedied the situation.”
Simmons University Public Safety and Brightview Landscaping both did not respond to request for comment when asked for a statement about their role in the matter.
The Office of Residence Life, another place where students often go to report maintenance and facility issues, had a different outlook on the situation.
Amber Whitton, Associate Director for Residential Operations, remarked that, while students contact the office to inform the staff about unsatisfactory conditions, it is unfair to assume that Residence Life is aware of every single thing happening on the residence campus.
“We go from a ‘see something, say something’ mentality,” Whitton said. “I would love to take care of the ice…but I might not be traversing that area. A student needs to inform the RA or inform public safety so that way they can get in touch with facilities.”
McLaughlin is not satisfied.
“It’s a lot to expect the disabled students to carry the constant emotional labor of reaching out and finding the right person,” McLaughlin said. “[We are not] able to trust that things are just going to be safe and accessible.”
