Weather causes student injuries

Mother Nature dealt College senior Nicole Brittingham and College sophomore Jessica Young a bad hand. And they are just two of the many University students who have suffered weather-related injuries in the past two days. After a combination of snow and rain Monday night, temperatures dipped below freezing and left the entire campus blanketed by ice. Students were barely able to get around campus, and sliding and falling students were a common sight. Young's accident occurred as she was leaving her off-campus house on the 4000 block of Spruce Street. "I was leaving my house and I was holding on to the railing, but the steps?were covered with ice," she said. "I lost my footing, hit my head on the railing and I twisted and fell on the ice." Young said she was treated at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvanian for a badly bruised back, neck and head. She added that she was dressed "completely appropriately" and suggested to students that they stay indoors. Brittingham, who is also the Editor-in-Chief of The Vision, fell between Locust Walk and Houston Hall. "Another girl was walking opposite me, she slipped and reached for me to get her balance, and she pulled me down with her," Brittingham said. She added that she is now suffering from a backache and a sore left leg. MarJeanne Collins, director of Student Health Services, said last night that Student Health has treated many University students in the past few days. "We've seen several fractures," she said. "Over the last several days, six or so would come to mind. If you go back over the total week, possibly a few more than that." Collins added that students have also been suffering from sprains, bruises, and twisted ankles and wrists. Susan Canning, administrator for emergency services at HUP, said that 25 to 35 percent of the cases seen in the emergency room during the last two days were weather-related. Canning added, though, that last week's storm, during which "almost 100 percent of the patients were storm-related injuries," was far worse than yesterday's. "An enormous number" of wrist fractures were treated at HUP, Canning said, attributing many of the problems to people trying to break their falls on the ice. Physician Iris Reyes said last night that she treated "a bunch of knee fractures, [twisted] ankles, wrists [and] back sprains." She added that many of her patients were University students. Brittingham said she thought the University should have closed both yesterday and Monday, especially because Locust Walk was not cleared. "I don't think it was safe at all to be out," she said. "Weather conditions were so bad that there was no way that [the University] could control it. "I don't think that there was any real reason that students should have been subjected to those kind of weather conditions on either day," she added.