IU hands students snow shovels, setting off a social media firestorm

Indiana University is distributing shovels to help students clear snow off their cars, an announcement that set off a social media firestorm.Much of the Bloomington area is still blanketed in snow after a massive storm system dumped some 10 to 14 inches around the area. While IU has cleared much of the snow across the approximately 1,933-acre campus, an email from IU Student Government leadership seemed to imply that students were on the hook for clearing some sidewalks themselves.In a mass email to students, IU Bloomington’s Student Body President, Vice President, and Chief of Staff said that the university was distributing shovels to help students clear snow.“After discussions with the Chancellor and the Vice Chancellor for Student Life, the university has informed us that Facilities has placed, or is in the process of placing, shovels at all residence halls to assist you all in navigating sidewalks, entry points, and your vehicles,” said the Student Body President, Vice President, and Chief of Staff in a joint email obtained by the Herald-Times. “These shovels will be available at the center desk for your building. Please return them after you use them.”Despite mostly cleared sidewalks, email sets off social media firestormA student walks on the Indiana University campus on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026.University spokesperson Mark Bode said the shovels were for “students who need assistance digging out their personal vehicles” in parking lots across campus.“Over the past week, IU Facilities has worked tirelessly to clear the 55 miles of sidewalks, 809 sets of stairs, 20 miles of roadway, and 214 parking lots on the Bloomington campus after a 14.5-inch snowfall,” Bode said in a statement emailed to the Herald-Times.Bode didn’t specify whether certain sidewalks and pathways were still being cleared but said that snow removal “remains an ongoing process.” He said IU has prioritized emergency road access first, followed by a focus on ADA curbs and “primary and secondary sidewalks”A student walks towards the Sample Gates on the Indiana University campus on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026.“Over the coming days, we will continue to leverage internal and contractor support to remove snow from campus,” Bode said in his statement.Still, the message from student government ignited a firestorm online, with a screenshot of the email amassing almost 2 million views on X and skyrocketing to the top of the Bloomington and IU community subreddits.In their email, the student government leaders also encouraged students to contact them directly about snowed-in vehicles, offering to help elevate complaints to the appropriate offices.“We are actively working to help ensure campus conditions remain as safe as possible over the next few days,” their email said. “We are here to help and will do everything we can to assist you.”Bode also thanked the City of Bloomington for their efforts in clearing sidewalks and roadways surrounding off-campus student apartments.Reach Brian Rosenzweig at brian@heraldt.com. Follow him on Twitter/X at @brianwritesnews.This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana University says most sidewalks are clear after shovel email