Four days after Mother Nature dropped just under a foot of snow on DeKalb, NIU’s campus was still a white mess.

A solid layer of white covered areas where sidewalks were supposed to be. Many student’s cars were barricaded in by snow, and everyone was still feeling the ill effects of the storm.

Being located in the Midwest, NIU’s campus is no stranger to snow. But it’s obvious that despite the excessive amount, the university was not ready for winter.

With the severity of the storm, a longer cleanup time was naturally expected. There was only so much that could be done on Friday with the campus being closed.

But even with Friday taken off, the snow easily could have been cleaned up over the weekend. Any student who tried to get across campus for anything over the weekend needed their own personal snow blower or else they were going nowhere.

The problem continued into Monday morning as students walking to classes on sheets of ice. It wasn’t until almost midday that snow plows were again seen around campus.

Late into Monday evening, students walking to and from night classes still had to travel across icy paths because sidewalks were not salted.

This doesn’t even address the fact that students who parked in NIU’s public lots had nothing to get themselves out of their plowed-in parking spaces. Some students went as far as using cafeteria trays as shovels to move the snow.

This storm was forecast well in advance. The next time NIU resembles Hoth, those in charge should learn from this event and add the resources needed to do their job and get students to class safely.