Updated: 10:46 a.m.

On Friday, Portland experienced its coldest morning of the winter. Any snow that had previously melted became ice and a MAX train derailed. Schools were canceled almost across the board. Almost.

Portland State University, in a message on their Facebook page, told staff and students classes would start late, at 10 a.m.

"Weather Update: The Portland State campus will reopen Friday, January 13 with a delayed 10 a.m. opening," read the message. "Classes scheduled before 10 a.m. are canceled. Students and employees are encouraged to take public transit if possible."

Students who might have a difficult or unsafe commute were encouraged to contact their teachers and employees were told to contact their supervisors if they had issues getting to work.

"Because of ice and snow conditions," read the announcement, "some areas of campus will be closed off for safety and will be clearly marked as closed."

Earlier this week, multiple trees fell on the PSU campus. One fell into the Smith Memorial Student Union, breaking windows and damaging the building.

Students and staff were not happy about the school's decision to opt for a late start instead of a full closure.

"Are you kidding me, PSU???" wrote Judy Walden Camacho who identified herself as a instructor. "I am a faculty member who takes school very seriously, just like our students do, but you are putting us all in danger by asking us to come in at 10."

"Since the governor declared a state of emergency until Saturday," she added, "will you take care of us if we have an accident while we are trying to drive in?"

"I live one block away and I will not walk on ice," wrote Carmen Valentine. "Sorry. My teacher understands."

"Dear PSU, I am a faculty member," wrote Talisman Saunders, who posted a screenshot of her canceled buses. "The two buses canceled in this photo are the two buses that I would take to get to work."

Marielle Dezurick, a student at PSU, told us over Facebook Messenger that while she didn't have class today, she thinks they school shouldn't hold classes.

"It's careless to expect students to risk their safety to get to school," she said.

In a statement sent Friday, the school said:

"As the advisory states, it's up to a student or employee to make their individual decision based on their situation. Unlike schoolchildren, they are adults. Unlike schools that are spread over the city, PSU is one downtown campus served by buses, streetcar and MAX. City and state crews also have plowed and sanded the main arterial streets leading to downtown. The two-hour delay allows people more time to travel to campus."

In addition, PSU crews have been working since the snow stopped on Wednesday to clear walkways and put down gravel on campus. They also have marked off closed areas for safety.

OHSU, the City of Portland, Multnomah County and other public offices are also open today besides PSU. "

While the Portland State late start decision was clearly unpopular, it wasn't the only college that chose to go with a late start Friday. Pacific Northwest College of Art, Oregon School of Massage, American College of Healthcare Sciences, Art Institute of Portland, George Fox University, International Air & Hospitality Academy, Linfield College and University of Portland were all on expected to open at some point during the day.

Most other colleges, as well as public and private schools, remained closed.

-- Lizzy Acker

503-221-8052

lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker