An Accumulation of Snow Days: Good or Bad?
Mother Nature has been wreaking havoc on New England for weeks now. With blizzard after blizzard coming our way, who knows if there will ever be an end to this winter? In high school I remember being psyched when I got the phone call saying I could sleep in a few extra hours, or knowing I had the day free to do anything. But in college it is different when I hear that I have classes cancelled. Sure, once in a while it’s great to get a day off, but one to two days cancelled every week for a few weeks has a lot of people on the fence.
Pros of Multiple Snow Days:
Like I previously said, getting a break between hectic class days can be great. Sometimes you can lose control of homework and you just need a day to catch up on everything going on in your classes. Whether you need to get homework done, study for a test, or just review the material a few extra hours, a few days off to catch up is always helpful.
Another huge perk of a snow day (in my opinion at least) is being able to get those extra hours of sleep! I am a night owl and I know many other Collegiettes are as well, so getting out of bed in the morning for classes is always a struggle. Sleeping in is one of my favorite activities, right up there with midday naptime.
If you get a snow day and by some lucky chance you have no work to do and don’t feel like sleeping, then you get to hangout with your friends all day! You can finally all relax and watch movies and stay warm. If you’re feeling adventurous you can go build a snowman and have a snowball fight, too. It’s always a great day when you get to have some fun with your friends, and multiple snow days give you that opportunity.
Cons of Multiple Snow Days:
Now, after missing quite a few days of classes, I’m realizing the effects of these multiple blizzards. My Monday classes are now one full week behind where we should be, which puts my professors at quite a disadvantage to get all of the course material into our brains in time for final exams. I’ve received multiple emails from professors switching around dates for homework and in-class assignments, and it just gets confusing trying to match up each class with new due dates!
Since I’ve gotten to college, the biggest change is that when I get to choose classes, I’m choosing classes that I like and that I want to take. So having all of these snow days actually makes me miss my classes! I want to learn about the subjects I’m being taught and I don’t want to have to rush through everything just to meet deadlines. I care about the class material.
Having multiple snow days not only cramps up the academic calendar, but it could change it. I know that if colleges do have too many snow days and professors simply can’t cover all of the material they need to, then they could add on days to the end of the school year before finals start, leaving us with less time to study. I don’t know about you, but less time to study for finals sounds horrifying to me.
Another very obvious reason for not liking all of these snow days is the fact there is so. much. snow. At this rate we will not being seeing the ground until May with that green stuff all over it, I think I remember it being called grass? Also snow plows, although they are a huge help in getting the snowy mess cleared up, make so much noise on this campus during all hours of the day. I’m really sick of this Winter Wonderland. It’s freezing-cold all the time and I keep finding myself saying, “Why didn’t I just go to school in Florida?”.
In conclusion, multiple snow days seem to be much more negative than many would think. Sure, you can relax and have a little fun, but it may be at the cost of spare time later in the year. So now I am asking Mother Nature, can you please stop? New England got our winter, now we would really like some Spring!