EDITORIAL: Be smart with travel, academics during panic-causing weather
When classes are canceled because of snow, many students use the day off as free time. However, “free” may be the most inappropriate word for it.
With classes canceled today and the much-publicized snowstorm not anticipated to let up until tonight, students will have some extra time this week.
While a day off may be viewed as such, the reality is a snow day is a day of school for which students paid. To take that day and completely neglect studying, catching up with homework or getting a head-start on upcoming projects is a misuse of already-spent tuition money.
Many people will use the day off to relax, go sledding and enjoy themselves, and they still can. It is a break and it is fair to enjoy the extra time, but wasting the entire day is also wasting money spent to learn at this institution.
Some time should be set aside for studying, and keeping on schedule for the classes they may miss. Taking a few hours out of an entire day off to keep up with school is not unreasonable, even by slacker standards.
Extra care should be taken in the case of extreme weather. Dress appropriately, wear heavy shoes, hat and gloves.
Also, driving in extreme amounts of snow should be kept to an absolute minimum. If driving is absolutely necessary, grandmotherly speeds should be maintained. If a driver thinks he or she is going too slow, that driver should slow down a little.
There will be considerably more snow on the ground than Mount Pleasant has seen this year. Anywhere anybody goes, they will have to take more time, more care and avoid weather-based tragedy.
Regardless of what 24-hour television news channels have been saying, this major snowstorm will not be an “apocalypse” or an “armageddon,” but be smart and stay safe as much as you can, because it could cause a whole lot of problems.
