Let's call the wintry weather that walloped Waterloo Region late Sunday and early Monday for what it was. It was a solid winter storm - nothing more, nothing less.

It was not Snowmageddon. It was not Febocalypse. It was nothing close to a once-in-a- century blizzard. The 30-centimetre-deep blanket of snow it dropped on the region was a lot for this area, but it pales beside the 228 centimetres that literally buried parts of Western New York state over a few days in late November. In contrast, the weather front that hit our region Sunday was the sort of challenge we get - and get over - from time to time. Indeed, by mid-morning Monday, this community was running like a well-kept clock.

And that's why the University of Waterloo made the entirely reasonable decision to stay open Monday.

We know the university has come under fire from students who believed it was unsafe to drive to classes. They say UW should have followed the lead of Wilfrid Laurier University, Conestoga College, the University of Guelph and Waterloo Region's public and Catholic school boards and cancelled classes for the day.

But the school boards are in a very different situation. They have to think of the welfare of very young students much less capable of navigating snowy streets than adults. They have to think about their rural students who needed to be bused along unplowed back-roads. We don't necessarily fault the post-secondary schools that shut down for the day, either.

Tens of thousands of people, some commuting for an hour or more, made it to work in Waterloo Region as they would on any other work day. Grand River Transit was operating as it normally would. The regional roads and main city streets were open. Most UW campus roads and paths were cleared of snow, too.

It's true some UW students have to drive in from other communities. They should have felt free to stay home if they felt the commute would be treacherous. Far more students live on or close to campus and had a relatively easy walk.

Early Monday morning, UW officials had to make a tough call to make. They got it right.