While the break from classes during the winter storm allowed for a pause in schoolwork, for some students, the unexpected week off came with added stress.
The record-breaking weather from the week of Sunday, Feb. 14 caused an unpredictable agenda with classes that left many students wondering what they were waking up to each day.
Zoology sophomore Maddy Clark said she appreciated the time off, even with the uncertainties.
“I really enjoyed having some time to breathe and gather myself, but the day-to-day cancellations did add stress because there was no way of being sure of what I needed to be doing that day,” Clark said.
Clark said she was happy about the snowfall and how it provided an unexpected substitute for spring break.
“Since this is my first year in college, I was pretty disappointed when spring break got canceled,” Clark said. “So when the snow came, I was just excited to get to play outside and catch up on sleep.”
Similarly, general studies sophomore Hannah Carrillo said the weather presented students with a last-minute reprieve from classes.
“It kind of felt like we were getting the week-long break that was taken away from us this semester, since we had a break from school and [academic] responsibilities for a whole week,” Carrillo said.
Carrillo said she was relieved at first, but as classes continued to be canceled, she felt apprehensive about potential consequences.
“Initially, I was very excited when classes started to get canceled because at first, a pause from school sounded like a much needed break,” Carrillo said. “The week itself felt like a stress reliever, but by the end of it, I was honestly ready for classes to begin again.”
While classes resumed and professors accommodated, Carrillo said she still felt pressed for time with her adjusted schedule.
“My professors tried their best to fit two weeks of the curriculum into one week, but I think me and many of my friends felt a lot of pressure to get so much done so fast,” Carrillo said. “It felt like there was so much to do and not enough time.”
In contrast, communication sophomore Zoe Kim said she was one of the fortunate students who didn’t experience as many repercussions as some of her peers.
“Luckily I had all of my exams right before the break, so my classes really weren’t affected too bad,” Kim said. “My future exams are now a week later, but I’m personally not stressed about the schedule changes.”
In the midst of the storm and canceled classes, Kim said she experienced opportunities she wouldn’t have had otherwise.
“It relieved stress for me because I suddenly had more time to catch up on my assignments, and I got to spend more quality time with my friends that I feel like we normally miss out on because of schoolwork,” Kim said.
Despite the challenges presented by the storm, Kim said she found the week off helped students’ well-being.
“The outages were extremely inconvenient for everyone, but overall, I felt like a slight mental break was good for the majority of students,” Kim said.