With Uni having an e-learning day on January 16th, many students were left wondering if this would be the new norm for days when administration says they can’t come to school in person.
With temperatures staying in the negatives for most of the day, Uni administration decided it would be best if school was not going to meet in person for the safety of their students and teachers. While no snow fell on this day, it got Uni students thinking about how this would affect snow days in the foreseeable future and other days where students can’t make it into school safely.
When Editor Simrah Khan asked Dr. Majerus about her opinions on the decision to have e-learning vs. a snow day, Majerus said, “I think snow days are great because they give everybody a break and they’re a lovely surprise and a nostalgic part of my own school days. I think e-learning days are valuable because it means we don’t have to go to school in May when the weather’s beautiful. I think snow days are great, but sometimes it hurts to go to school on those days. And the other thing about e-learning days is that it makes the decision easier. To make the safe decision. Because we’re not really looking at changing the school calendar. […] If we can’t be in school, we can’t be in school. The difference between [a snow day and an e-learning day] is that we will be more likely to have a slightly delayed opening if there will be a lot of snow at night, stopping in the early morning, we want to make sure cities and the campus gets a chance to clear snow and people can get to school safely. I guess that would mean we’re less likely to have a delayed opening on cold days; on a snow day, that’s more likely to happen.”
With that being said, many Uni students were asked their opinions on the matter, and responses were pretty in line with Dr. Majerus’ statement, with many students such as Aiden Kim, a junior, stating that, “If you have a snow day then you have to do it at the end of the year, you have to make up for it, but an e-learning day is a super easy day.”
The general consensus among students was that e-learning days were better, because they don’t have to make it up at the end of the year, but some members of the Uni community still felt that e-learning days were less helpful than an actual day of school. Spanish teacher Juan Socarras said, “For teachers as well as students it’s not the best. Maybe in an emergency like COVID 19, okay. But otherwise, if it’s possible, in person. Or sacrifice some days after the regular schedule to have the chance to teach classes in person. If it’s just one or two days, then they could just be days for students to rest completely as well as for teachers.”
While there are many different viewpoints on the matter, the general consensus from students and a majority of faculty is that e-learning days are better and safer for students, and making up a day in the beautiful spring weather having to be stuck inside would be less than ideal. One main takeaway, however, is that Uni students feel like they aren’t doing anything on the e-learning days either, so in the end, it is more of a safety decision rather than a happiness decision. If needed going forward, it seems that Uni will take their e-learning days over having to make up a day in May.