I absolutely love Ohio State. In the three-and-a-half years I’ve been here, I have never once regretted my decision to attend this university.
At the conclusion of every year thus far, I am incredibly happy as I look back and I always think to myself, “What a great year!”
Spring Quarter is inexplicably amazing and even going to class can feel fun, because the sun is out and I can finally wear flip-flops again. The Oval is jam-packed with frolicking puppies and shirtless bros and in general it is just a fantastic time to be at OSU.
But somehow, whether it is because I am in a sun-induced stupor or else simply blinded by it, during the spring I somehow manage to forget how terrible one part of the year is.
Once January rolls around, impending doom sets in. Winter in Columbus is miserable, and the three months that make up Winter Quarter are the absolute worst.
I actually start out the winter excited to return from break and start a new quarter. Then, after a few days, the temperature drops below freezing or worse, the campus is dumped with 600 feet of snow and I start to wonder why I didn’t go to school in Florida or even the University of Cincinnati or Xavier — two schools in Ohio that actually cancel classes when pounded with snow.
I have no patience or tolerance for cold and I hate everything about snow even more. I do not find snow to be pretty or serene. All I know is that I have fallen in it many times while trying to walk home from class, often in front of other people. It is both painful and embarrassing.
I also do not think snow is fun and OSU students know that snow days are for Columbus schools but not for us. Also, when you fall as often as I do, you get snow in every crevice of your body, which is unpleasant.
Also, for those that think snowballs are fun, see how fun it is when an angry homeless man throws snowballs at you after asking for money.
When I can actually coax myself out of bed to attend class, I must wear six to eight layers of clothes and even then I wish I was warmer. I hobble to class, slipping the whole way and watching others tumble dangerously on the sidewalks that are never salted or shoveled. Upon arriving at class, I am usually sweating profusely thanks to all my layers.
The worst part of Winter Quarter is the false hope that sets in when the snow finally melts, the sun comes out for a few hours and it is safe to walk outside again. Then within days, another blizzard takes over the city and everyone panics. In addition, the general lack of sunlight makes me feel sad and unmotivated to do anything. For example, even if I finish all my homework, I will still be cold and thus my day is a failure.
At times, people do overreact to the amount of snow that Columbus gets; I can admit that. For example, 2 inches of snow is no reason to expect a snow day. That is just ridiculous. Also, it is still possible to drive normally with that amount of snow, so the panic that grips everyone is unnecessary and those who forget how to drive and won’t go over five mph are a hazard to the rest of the world.
However, I think I can speak for OSU students as a whole when I say that OSU has let me down this winter. They have had several chances to make this terrible quarter just a bit more bearable for us, but thus far failed. Nothing is worse than waking up, like I did Tuesday morning, with 6 inches of snow on the ground, with flakes still falling, only to find out that despite the fact that every other campus in Ohio and two of OSU’s regional campuses have no class, that we still do.
Snow has slowed traffic on the highways to a stop; an Ohio man died Monday shoveling his driveway; and good luck trying to fly out of Columbus anytime soon.
I saw five people slip and fall in my short walk down Neil Avenue to the Journalism Building Tuesday, and I can’t be sure that several of them didn’t sustain serious injuries.
Walking around campus can be extremely dangerous and commuters who have to drive to campus in a snowstorm have it even worse. When classes aren’t cancelled in inclement weather, about half of students don’t even show up to class anyway.
So give us a break, OSU. Whoever it is that makes these decisions, can’t we have a snow day once in a while? We spend three horrid months tromping around in snow, slipping on hidden ice, driving our cars into medians trying to get to campus and in general being miserable.
I’m not saying we should get a day off when there is a light sprinkle, but I don’t think it is asking too much in the current conditions for the university to take our safety and well-being into account and save us, for just one day, from the snow. This winter has already been rough and we’ve been through a lot. We deserve this.
