Penn State students question the university’s aversion to snow days

State College, Pa. — For a young child, there is nothing quite like waking up to a 6 a.m. phone call from the school announcing classes are canceled, sipping a hot chocolate and crawling back to bed.

As students get older and slip into adulthood, it seems as though there are less opportunities to sleep in on a nice snowy morning. Penn State students only get this feeling on special occasions, when there is an extreme weather event.

And even then, Penn State has only canceled classes a handful of times in the last few years.

The town clears some of the roads on and off campus during heavy snow storms. But those who live off-campus often have a hard time getting to classes on those days.

Penn State junior Phoebe Cykosky said snow days are important for students who live off-campus because they “can’t get anywhere” during a storm.

She said she believes the road conditions in the State College area pose a “safety concern” for students and faculty who drive in the morning.

A common argument in favor of closing campus during heavy snow is we can potentially transition classes to an online Zoom format. Since the coronavirus, students have become accustomed to using Zoom as an alternative to the traditional classroom.

Cykosky (junior-criminology) said she believes Zoom classes aren’t a great option because it “depends on people’s internet connection.” Some apartments, like the Meridian, don’t have great internet, according to Cykosky.

During the spring 2021 semester, Penn State implemented “wellness days” built in to the usual class schedule. These were days off where students could catch up on work, or just take the day to relax.

Wellness days proved to many students it is possible to have days off from class without falling too far behind.

Senior Eric Fenstermaker said he believes snow days can serve as makeshift wellness days and give students a chance to “detox their brains.”

“If you keep trying to run run run, you’re eventually gonna get stuck in the sand,” Fenstermaker said.

Though at their core, snow days and wellness days can serve the same basic function, snow days are completely dependent on not only the weather, but the university decision to cancel classes.

The “sporadic” nature of snow days may not be a perfect alternative to wellness days, according to Fenstermaker.

Despite that challenges posed by heavy snow and cold temperatures, Penn Staters may have an advantage when it comes to winter weather.

Being located in central Pennsylvania, locals typically brace for the storm and are already prepared with snow tires, shovels and all the appropriate cold-weather clothing.

Some students believe canceling classes due to snow storms can be a bad idea because the university may lose money, it can mess up professor’s preplanned schedules and is just straight up unnecessary, among other reasons.

Second year student Alina Lebedeva, who is originally from Moscow, Russia, said there is never a reason for the university to close due to snow.

She said she believes there are measures professors and students can take to work around the snow, and “time in college is really valuable.”

Lebedeva (sophomore-telecommunications), who plays tennis for Penn State, said she’d still have practice if classes were canceled and wouldn’t mind attending classes in addition.

Although days off from school can mean the chance to focus on schoolwork or mental health, opinions among students vary.

For some students that live on-campus, like freshman Leah Pellis, a snow day is nothing more than another opportunity to mess around and have fun.

Pellis (freshman-agribusinness management) said in the event of a snow day, she would “take a tray from the cafeteria and go sledding.”