NIU should be congratulated for its efforts to clear campus sidewalks and roads after Monday’s clobbering snowstorm.

The snowstorm dumped about four inches of the white stuff on DeKalb, but Mother Nature was no match for snowplowing crews. The crews hit the streets while students slept—about 4:30 a.m.—to make sure the walking and driving would be easy.

It’s amazing the snow that covers the grass, trees and buildings can be virtually absent from the ways we travel by the time we wake up.

While broadcast media warn us the roads are “snowpacked and impassible” and the common “don’t travel unless you absolutely have to,” they often paint the situation worse than it is.

Such was the case at NIU. Despite some flooding conditions in the parking lots because of melting snow, the traveling paths were fairly clear. Though it’s often a pain to trudge through the snow (especially when you have to walk everywhere), it’s nice to have “less of a trudge.”

It was a marked improvement from last year, when the sidewalks remained snowpacked for weeks after. Students living in the west residence halls had to traverse over mounds of ice and old snow before reaching the beautifully-cleaned Annie Glidden Road.

opefully, NIU won’t lose any ground, though, and attack every blizzard with the same fervor. What a difference a year makes.