All too often, I find myself filling these pages with complaints and requests. So, instead of complaining this week, I feel that it is appropriate to give a shout-out to some groups of workers around campus that have kept this college running as smoothly as possible during this difficult winter.

First and foremost, I think we, the Dickinson students, should be thankful for facilities. All of us should be thankful that facilities still has salt to use on ice; this is nothing to take for granted since salt is now in short supply in this part of the country. Facilities also helped Dickinson students with things that would otherwise be taken for granted, such as getting rid of enough snow and ice for the vans to get out. There is also the fact that, even though nobody could be perfect considering the circumstances, facilities has done the best job it could to clear walkways around campus. Students should even be thankful for the fact that, when necessary, facilities admitted to shortcomings such as poor walking conditions. When one combines all of these things done by facilities throughout the course of the winter, it becomes abundantly clear that this department has done yeoman’s work in keeping the college running.

Dining services is yet another department that has done an admirable job this winter. I know that they are supposed to show up if they can, since they are all essential employees. However, this requirement (relatively speaking, compared to most other workers on campus) is easier said than done when there is a quarter inch of ice or snow-covered roads. Just the mere fact that so many dining services employees have been able to show up, in spite of the conditions, is downright remarkable to me. Even more amazing is that, if there are any employees unable to show up for work due to the weather conditions, I am unable to notice. Credit should go to dining services for making sure that the SNAR, Underground, Quarry, and caf run as smoothly as possible, even during setbacks such as snow and ice events.

Last, but certainly not least, credit should go to Dickinson Public Safety (DPS). The work they do is severely hampered by snow. From their patrol cars presumably struggling around the streets to their officers walking around in the snow and ice, it must be especially difficult in a winter like this to do good police work. In spite of this, they have continued their work with as few hitches as possible. This is not an easy thing to do considering the natural obstacles to doing their work effectively.

I am sure that there are other groups in and around campus that deserve thanks for their efforts in keeping the college functional this winter. These three departments, however, have stood out because they have been able to overcome the difficulties they encountered in order to keep campus a happy, healthy, and safe place for all Dickinsonians.