There aren’t many feelings in the world that can compare to the one that rushes through every LHS student when he or she hears the famous recording of Dr. Marina Scott’s voice divulging that school for the next day is cancelled due to snow. I’m pretty sure I can hear a faint hint of excitement in our principal’s voice as she graces all of our answering machines on the eve of a snow day. There’s an intangible mystique about snow days. Maybe it’s the optimism that we will spend the day building snowmen, drinking hot chocolate, or doing other things that would belong in a holiday claymation movie from the 70s. So the question becomes, why don’t we have more snow days? No one deserves them more than the students in Libertyville. And at the end of the day, it’s the safe thing to do; nobody wants to take a chance with their life and venture into the icy death trap that is LHS after even the lightest snow.
Snow puts our students and staff in danger, and it’s imperative that our school makes safety a priority. What bus driver, or any driver, is trained to handle the frantic conditions of a light flurry? Even one small snowflake that lands on the windshield causes immeasurable distress. Why put our students at risk and force them to drive through the imposing eighth of an inch of snow that may blanket our roads? Libertyville bus driver Wendy N. Snowee has valuable insight about the matter.
“There’s no way I should be carting kids around when there’s even a little bit of snow outside,” she commented. “Sometimes I even feel dangerous driving when I look up and see clouds.”
When there’s remotely any snowfall outside, imminent danger looms around every hallway and sidewalk of LHS. We should prevent kids slipping and falling on ice by just cancelling school for the day, and possibly even the week or month. Libertyville senior I.C. Path is walking, or falling, proof for why snow brings problems at the school.
“Last year I was walking into school and I slipped on some ice on the sidewalk,” he shared. “I didn’t have any injuries, and actually didn’t even fall to the ground, but it really made me question how much the school cares about my safety.”
Libertyville High School owes it to the safety of our students to cancel school anytime snow falls within at least a twenty-mile radius. Even a minute-long flurry can be life threatening.
Any type of snowfall is a surprise nowadays, due to impending global warming. By the winter of next year, Chicago and the rest of Illinois looks to be an entirely tropical area with climate comparable to cities like Miami and Mexico City. Before we know it, igloos will turn into sandcastles, ice skating into parasailing, and frost bite into sunburn. Libertyville resident and atmospheric scientist Sonny Future is well-read in the area of global warming.
“If I had to guess, I would say that snowfall will decrease by about 700% over the next couple years,” he shared. “Schools in the Chicago area really need to value snow and its rapidly waning presence.”
Students at Libertyville are itching for more snow days; it’s the perfect time for students to spend time with friends and family in the winter wonderland. Whether it is having a snowball fight or making snow angels, snow days give students the chance to value the charm of nature.
“I’ve been seriously behind on my ‘Call of Duty’ lately,” commented sophomore Will Freese. “Snow days would help me isolate myself and catch up on my gaming.”
He’s not the only one who could benefit from an extra day off of school. The grueling, seemingly never-ending three week stretch between Thanksgiving and Winter breaks warrants an occasional mental health day.
“Sometimes school literally stresses me out so much, I just need some time to sleep and stay inside,” said junior Summer S. Gonn.
Students like Summer deserve this day off to appreciate the essence of what winter is all about: focusing on things that are more important than school. Is school the key to our success and the foundation of our future as young adults? Yes, but you don’t prestige on COD by sitting around and wasting your time doing homework. Students are finally getting their priorities straight and realizing that school deserves to sit at the bottom.
Snow days provide the ideal opportunity for kids at LHS to stay safe and treasure the allures of winter. So let’s get our dedicated students more snow days, and even think about even cancelling school for the whole winter. That “Call of Duty” isn’t going to play itself.
