This petition is geared towards initiating a change at St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minnesota for a cancellation of classes on extremely cold days. Classes are rarely cancelled for weather, but with the recent dips in temperature, conditions can be dangerous for students commuting or students walking to campus. With the Fall 2013 campus enrollment being at 16,245, we need to focus on keeping every one of the 16,245 students as well as faculty safe.

According to the Nation Weather Service, Travel difficulties can expected due to reduced visibilities from light or blowing snow accumulating. It's also possible to get frostbite and/or hypothermia from exposure during the cold temperatures.

Wind chill temperatures of -50 degrees can cause frostbite in 5 minutes to exposed skin and in 10 minutes when the wind chill is -30 degrees. A lot of students have more than a ten minute walk from their parking space or nearby home.

This is why we must take a stand and petition St. Cloud State to create a policy to cancel classes when the wind chill is predicted to be colder than -25 degrees.