A view of Uni High late Sunday afternoon. Gargoyle photo by Katherine Allen (click to enlarge)

IN THE AFTERMATH of the snowstorm that hit the Champaign-Urbana area this weekend, everyone is wondering: Is the possibility of a snow day in our near future?

Director/Principal Steve Epperson will soon have to wake up earlier than usual to check the weather, while Assistant Director Sue Kovacs checks the road conditions.

“We listen to the radio,” Epperson said last week when the Gargoyle interviewed him about the factors that go into deciding whether Uni should close because of snow. “We get on the computer and see what the radar maps look like, [and watch] the television to see what other school districts are doing in the area.”

Based on their findings, they will decide whether or not to call a snow day.

Local television stations WCIA and WILL and radio stations WDWS-AM 1400 and WILL-AM 580 will be informed if a snow day is in store, and an automated phone message will be sent to families and faculty.

The automated phone system has already been put to the test once this year. Epperson used it on Dec. 8 to inform parents and students that the boys varsity and JV basketball games at Fisher and a junior/senior fundraising lock-in at Uni had been postponed because of inclement weather.

While the administration will do its best to predict the road conditions in Champaign-Urbana, Epperson and Kovacs are aware that many students and faculty members live out of town. In Central Illinois, the weather can change rapidly and can be quite different in neighboring towns.

“Each family must make a decision as to whether or not the roads are safe in their area,” wrote Epperson in an e-mail to parents last week. “I would much rather have a student miss a day of school than risk an accident on poor roads.”

One common conception is that, historically, Uni rarely closes due to weather. Epperson believes this idea comes from Uni’s connection with the University of Illinois, which hardly ever closes.

Last year’s two consecutive snow days may be considered evidence against the theory, although most other high schools in Central Illinois had at least three consecutive days without school.

Before last Feb. 13 and 14, Uni hadn’t had a snow day since Jan. 4, 1999.

Epperson says Uni will try to do whatever is best for the students.

“Safety obviously is the primary concern,” he told the Gargoyle. “We don’t want students and parents and teachers out on the roads when there’s a chance that there could be an accident.”

[Note: This story was updated Sunday afternoon to include photos.]

A view of the top of Uni's west entrance late Sunday afternoon. Gargoyle photo by Katherine Allen (click to enlarge)

Elsewhere on campus: a snow-covered Alma Mater, ready for the Rose Bowl. Gargoyle photo by Katherine Allen (click to enlarge)