2008 Woodie Awards
Old News: To investigate snow removal
Issue date: 12/10/07 Section: News
From the March 27, 1958 issue of The Maine Campus
University Director of Plant and Facilities Francis S. McGuire is investigating reports that a University snow removal crew slammed student autos with a plow to get them out of the way after a recent snowstorm.
"This incident is not in keeping with our policy," McGuire told the Campus. "I am going to find out who was driving those trucks."
He said that he would not comment on the action until he "knows all the facts."
The statement rose out of a letter written to the Campus by University student Marvin Herschfield and witnessed by 20 other Maine male students. They said that University snow removal crew has pushed cars out of the way with their plows.
In part the letter says, "On Sunday, March 16, … the University plow, number five, was preparing to plow out the area between Beta house and Sigma Nu … two cars in the lot hadn't been moved."
Herschfield went on to say that possibly the students' autos were illegally parked but said there was no excuse for "the policy used in dealing with the offenders."
"We saw a jeep equipped with a plow begin pushing one of the cars back to the rear of the lot," Herschfield wrote. "… The driver backed off a distance and rammed the car, like it was so much garbage."
He went on to say that the jeep began on another car while students in Dunn Hall leaned out windows, "catcalling and cursing." "Again he backed off, this time a much greater distance. He lowered his plow, started forward and rammed a plowful of snow into the side of the car with enough impact to make the sound clearly audible from my fourth-floor room …"
He said that "for a full five minutes the plow went from side to side, front to back, each time slamming more snow around the car until it was hopelessly enclosed …"
He said that a member of the campus police sat in a truck "across the street, observing the … plowman."
Herschfield also said that he asked the policeman to interfere but that the policeman said "he didn't have the right."
Herschfield and the witnesses called for a clearcut policy in order "to make this incident the last" of its kind.
McGuire told the Campus that the policeman was correct. "He does not have any jurisdiction over the ground crews. He was there to direct traffic and possibly assist in locating owners of parked autos. When an automobile owner has not been located in the past, we have followed the policy of towing vehicles away."
McGuire, who was away from the University at the time, said, "I assumed that the snow removal crews had been keeping within our policy. This incident is not an expression of that policy, and I'm going to investigate deeper, he said.
Dean of Men John Stewart told the Campus that "we definitely don't want this kind of incident. However, I believe that the students would have been wiser and would have received quicker action had they gone to Mr. McGuire with the problem,"
University Director of Plant and Facilities Francis S. McGuire is investigating reports that a University snow removal crew slammed student autos with a plow to get them out of the way after a recent snowstorm.
"This incident is not in keeping with our policy," McGuire told the Campus. "I am going to find out who was driving those trucks."
He said that he would not comment on the action until he "knows all the facts."
The statement rose out of a letter written to the Campus by University student Marvin Herschfield and witnessed by 20 other Maine male students. They said that University snow removal crew has pushed cars out of the way with their plows.
In part the letter says, "On Sunday, March 16, … the University plow, number five, was preparing to plow out the area between Beta house and Sigma Nu … two cars in the lot hadn't been moved."
Herschfield went on to say that possibly the students' autos were illegally parked but said there was no excuse for "the policy used in dealing with the offenders."
"We saw a jeep equipped with a plow begin pushing one of the cars back to the rear of the lot," Herschfield wrote. "… The driver backed off a distance and rammed the car, like it was so much garbage."
He went on to say that the jeep began on another car while students in Dunn Hall leaned out windows, "catcalling and cursing." "Again he backed off, this time a much greater distance. He lowered his plow, started forward and rammed a plowful of snow into the side of the car with enough impact to make the sound clearly audible from my fourth-floor room …"
He said that "for a full five minutes the plow went from side to side, front to back, each time slamming more snow around the car until it was hopelessly enclosed …"
He said that a member of the campus police sat in a truck "across the street, observing the … plowman."
Herschfield also said that he asked the policeman to interfere but that the policeman said "he didn't have the right."
Herschfield and the witnesses called for a clearcut policy in order "to make this incident the last" of its kind.
McGuire told the Campus that the policeman was correct. "He does not have any jurisdiction over the ground crews. He was there to direct traffic and possibly assist in locating owners of parked autos. When an automobile owner has not been located in the past, we have followed the policy of towing vehicles away."
McGuire, who was away from the University at the time, said, "I assumed that the snow removal crews had been keeping within our policy. This incident is not an expression of that policy, and I'm going to investigate deeper, he said.
Dean of Men John Stewart told the Campus that "we definitely don't want this kind of incident. However, I believe that the students would have been wiser and would have received quicker action had they gone to Mr. McGuire with the problem,"
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