Especially Adam Thiesse. The Jackson sophomore has class early in the morning during the week and found himself slipping more times than he would have liked.

“The sidewalks are very icy in the morning,” Thiesse said. “I’ve slipped multiple times walking to my 8 a.m. (class)."

Facilities Management has salted sidewalks and parking lots less than prior years, because of less snow than usual and colder temperatures.

“This year we have had very little need for salt compared to last year,” said Steve Lawrence, vice president of Facilities Management. “The amount of snowfall has been very small.”

Many do not know salt does not work as well when the temperature falls below 15 degrees Fahrenheit, Lawrence said.

“They get salted when conditions warrant it,” he said. “When people walk on the sidewalks after it snows, they pack it down, making it harder for FM grounds keepers to shovel it up.”

Facilities Management workers plow and lay salt on lots and sidewalks on campus between midnight and 7 a.m.

“Last year we brought in retired FM grounds keepers to help when it really snowed,” Lawrence said. “There are three retired grounds keepers that have agreed to come in case they are needed.”

Universities, through state-government funding, typically buy an abundance of salt per academic year, Lawrence said. CMU normally purchases about 750 tons of salt, 70 percent of which is used on sidewalks and a few selected parking lots.

The remainder of the salt is mixed with sand and dropped in parking lots to help create friction on the ice, Lawrence said. In 2007-08, when Mount Pleasant saw more than 70 inches of snow, the university purchased 900 tons of salt. CMU pays $60 per ton of salt, Lawrence said.

Ice, however, is difficult to manage, and salt fails to work when temperatures fall below 15 degrees Fahrenheit. During a string of days last week, lows reached near zero, leaving the salt relatively ineffective.

Lawrence said streets with salt and traffic are much more effective than sidewalks, because of the constant movement of cars. If salt isn’t being moved around, it just sits in one place and bores holes into the ice instead of melting it completely, he said.

The FM grounds keepers have to take in account the moisture content and wind, not just the amount of snowfall.

“It’s interesting because people need to remember it's winter in Michigan, and it will snow,” Lawrence said.

Given the recent oddball weather conditions, Howell freshman Katelyn Beno said she has found the university prepared.

“A couple of nights ago it rained," Beno said. "I was hoping they would salt the sidewalks before it froze, and they did.”

Kaitlin Slack, a Howell sophomore who works at the Help Desk in the Fabiano/Emmons/Woldt lobby, had to shovel some of the sidewalks one night during her midnight shift.

“Last semester we really didn’t have to do it,” Slack said. “So far, I have only had to do one snow shift.”

The desk is now instructed to shovel at 6 p.m., 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. when it snows. When midnight rolls around, there are two students working the desk.

The sidewalks themselves have only been a problem in the morning, Slack said.

“I don’t think they’ve been too bad,” Slack said. “But I have 8 a.m. (classes), so it probably snows before they can go out and shovel.”