Oxford Brookes University Criticised By Students For Closures

By Gavin Mackintosh-

 Using the hash tag #SnowDay to accompany a tweet confirming closures  on Sunday and Monday, its bright and hardworking students have complained bitterly about the decision, which they say will hamper their ability to prepare adequately for exams.

Many schools have closed down because of the heavy snow, but students at this elite University believe the University should have known that they would want to be allowed to attend the library to prepare for their exams. The snowy conditions in Britain which has led to many schools shutting down, has not stopped businesses running as usual. High streets and several firms have continued their operations as normal ,managing the difficult conditions of travel created by the snow. Many students from Oxford Brookes University live on the campus or nearby and were not expecting the weather conditions to affect their usual day’s hardwork.

Several complaints by students on Twitter came to the attention of The Eye Of Media.Com, but why students would make a big deal about a two day closure when they have access to facilities relating to their studies online is a bit of a wonder. Staff at the University anonymously told The Eye Of Media.Com said the closures were a ”precautionary measure” and that they had communicated with students in the Universiy and already granted extensions for coursework deadlines. The staff said the University ahd contacted students before the twitter announcement of closures, but with 8,00 students at the University, they could not possibly have reached them all. Furthermore, it is difficult to ascertain the proportion of students that approve of the cancellation, as the fraction that have come out to complain are a relatively small percentage of the whole.

Many students will gladly embrace the extra time provided to complete their coarsework , particularly those who had already opted to do so from home. However, some students prefer the tranquile atmosphere a library provides, rather than the comfort of their homes where they can be distracted by housemates or noise in the neighbouring areas.

The grievances  of the students is testimony to their strong will to press on despite the weather conditions.  Still, the  granted extensions can be seen as a bonus and goodwill gesture by the University. Students with challenging deadlines will be expected to discipline themselves at home and work hard, maximizing all the  accessible facilities online that will assist their studies. The complaints made by Oxford University comes as many parts of the UK have been locked down because of snow, including many sections of the transport service.