South Carolina has no idea how to handle 3 inches of snow, and its costing students money
Every year that I have attended Winthrop University, we have had one or two blankets of snow and ice each year. Students wait by their phones for that inevitable email, declaring that classes will be cancelled for the safety of students and faculty. Sometimes, cheers will echo through all of Digs when that email goes out, and other times its in the dead of night for everyone to wake up to. Students will be using makeshift sleds and snowboards to ride down the snow covered hills on Campus Green or at The Coliseum. Snowmen will litter the campus. Slick spots will inevitably cause a hand full of people to bust their butts. Everyone appears to have fun with their days off. But what about the money that we, or our parents, are paying for us to go to classes?
All of the money that we pay each semester is for us to learn. While some students may just see a day without classes as a blessing. On the other hand, I dread them. Not because I hate snow or the cold, because I love it. No I dread it because if Rock Hill and Winthrop both realized that these snow storms are a yearly event, and spent more money for more salt, for snow plows, then we could enjoy our classes and the snow in the same day.
With this weather becoming an annual phenomenon, Rock Hill, Charlotte and Fort Mill should all be learning that better road care is a necessity. While we do not need the fleets of plows that I would see in Maryland, we need enough to clear main streets before the morning commutes, for the safety of everyone. Honestly, southerners are pretty terrible at driving in snow and ice. I can’t count the amount of times I have seen someone slamming on their brakes while driving over ice.
While I understand the importance of the safety of students, instead of cancelling classes all together, make them optional for the day and leave it up to teacher and student discretion if they want to come to school. If not, they can throw snowballs all day, but I do not appreciate the school telling me that I can’t go to the class that I am paying to go to. Maybe some refunds should be in order?
