The snowstorm that hit late Friday night with two to three feet of snow left the mid-Atlantic region in a state of dysfunction. Even now, after the snow has stopped falling and the hurricane-force winds have died down, many are still feeling the shock. Along the eastern seaboard, dozens of cities and counties have still shut down local governments. Many flights from D.C. remain grounded, and many NYU students are stranded.

In the face of a remarkable snowstorm, NYU’s response was, in its own way, remarkable. On Friday morning, well before the first flakes appeared, the office of Robert Berne, Executive Vice President for Health, sent a mass email stating that the university would be closely monitoring the snowstorm and that it expected to remain open on Monday. He sent another email titled “NYU Rules of Thumb about Snow and Other Weather-Related Closings,” which made the administration’s criteria for closing the university clear – if either New York City public schools or mass transit closed, the university would do so as well.

NYU’s email updates were a welcome change from previous years, when students were often left to fend for themselves with little information at their disposal. Last year, the school notified students of class cancellations the day before classes were cancelled. In fact, the administration did not even definitively decide when the university would close until the evening of the storm. In comparison, this year’s response was markedly clearer. Students were given more time to prepare for the blizzard and change their travel plans accordingly.

Even so, NYU’s decision to keep school open on Monday based on New York City public schools neglects to account for the unique challenges that the NYU student body faces. Many international and vacationing students depend on flights to return to the city, and with over 10,000 flights canceled and major rail lines still out of operation, even commuters and students from the tri-state area cannot easily return. The public school system is a clear and simple reference for the university, but NYU policy should also consider ease of interstate and international transportation, which would better reflect the unique needs of its students.

These concerns could never be brought to light if the administration were totally uninterested in transparency. Hopefully the administration’s openness in the matter of school closings means the student body can expect similar transparency on other questions. Snowstorms are not the only issue that affects students – questions of financial aid, rising tuition and inclusiveness also merit an earnest, open discussion between the administration and the student body. Although current president Andrew Hamilton has remained quiet in the lead-up to his first semester, these emails suggest a much-needed move towards a more open administration.

A version of this article appeared in the Monday, January 25 print edition.

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