The first official “snow day” of the academic year, on Tuesday, Jan. 11, did not go as well as some students would have liked. While all of the colleges around us cancelled their evening classes, including employer Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Sinclair Community College students were made to get in their cars, battle the snow and come to class.
Well, at least some of us did.
With all of us having to commute somehow, either by walking, bus or car, it was no surprise that the Sinclair Facebook site was filled with posts questioning the decisions, made or not being made, by the college concerning the weather.
One student posted, “It’s pretty bad when I have a better chance of hitting the lotto than Sinclair closing.”
And it seemed for a second that it was true. Then a miracle happened and evening classes were closed last Thursday (Jan. 20) with a two-hour delay for the following morning due to another winter storm.
While we understand that most of us are adults and we have the right to make our own decisions to come to class or not in bad weather, it’s still discerning to be put in a situation to answer the question, “Is my education worth putting my life in danger, or paying the deductible on my insurance when my car nose dives into a ditch?”
The questions were answered differently by everyone, depending on certain factors, such as the weather in your area and what kind of vehicle you drive.
Of course everything would have been a whole lot easier if the college had just made the “right” decision about closing the campus. Or did they?
We have to give some credit to Sinclair for making us think about what is important and reminding us of our responsibilities to ourselves. We do pay for an education, regardless if you get financial aid or not, and it is crucial to the outcomes of our futures to proactively take part in classes.
In rain, snow, sleet or hail we should always do our best to follow through with our obligations and stay focused on what is important.
It’s a reality check, that, when we actually have jobs, our bosses won’t care if the roads are bad or that we have to spend 20 minutes scraping ice off our car.
The world doesn’t stop because of a little snow, and neither should we.