Wolfstock, Strawberry Fest, the Roth Regatta: these are some of Stony Brook’s exciting events that attract all sorts of its students. But what can be even more exciting than these events? Having nothing to do because of a snow day.
Coming from a high school on Long Island that would not close down for a foot of snow, I was pleasantly surprised when Stony Brook shut down for nearly half of that amount. The first snow day was like a gift from God. Although it happened during the second week of classes, I’m sure that nearly all students (especially fellow science majors) could agree that a day off proved to be very convenient for catching up on studies. It helped me finish three hours’ worth of chemistry homework! I mean, what else is there to do in the middle of the week when everything shuts down, the ground is covered in slippery ice and wet snow and all extracurriculars are cancelled? However, when the school closes or delays classes four times in three weeks, snow days can become hazardous to students’ grades. For what does a student do when he or she does not understand a homework concept and can’t go to a TA’s office hours because they could not arrive at school that day? Or what about when he or she has a midterm in the third week of classes, and three of the lectures were not reviewed in class due to the snow? Both of these situations create large amounts of stress for a student, especially those in demanding courses. Continuous snow days can cause many other similar issues such as these, and not all professors may be willing to ease the pain of excessive snow days’ impact.
Thankfully, my professors were all very generous with their grading and pushed homework back a few days. I was even rewarded with extra credit on my chemistry exam due to choosing the correct answers on topics that were not yet reached! But some of my peers are not as fortunate as I am and have professors who treat snow days like any other day. When snow days keep building up on each other, these professors’ students become overwhelmed with topics that they did not necessarily have the chance to properly understand and/or ask questions about. Consequently, their students will fall behind in their studies for an allotted period of time.
Stony Brook’s excessive snow days can not be blamed on the school, though, due to its vast amount of commuters who have to travel the dangerous roads to arrive here. The school does not have much of a choice on the matter. The best way to deal with a snow day comes from a mixture of considerate professors and hard-working students. Even with a string of snow days, keeping up with one’s studies should be no problem if both of these components are present. Unfortunately, since not all students have the most empathetic professors regarding the matter, snow days tend to result in mass student confusion and frustration.
