What’s worse than a snow storm? Attending classes in a snowstorm because of a half snow day.

This past week, I cursed Binghamton University on multiple occasions for having classes when the weather obviously disagreed. It was pointless to cancel class after 1 p.m. when the morning was a clear indicator that the weather was going to be horrible. The paths weren’t paved and the snow plows obviously couldn’t keep up with the quick snowfall. The parking lots were deserted and covered with a foot of snow, so people were bound to miss class anyway.

I don’t know if the administration noticed this, but most faculty and students travel to campus by car or bus. If walking was risky enough, it should be said that traveling on wheels was daring and stupid (there were several car accidents due to the snow). I especially sympathize with faculty and graduate students living in other cities who had to get to campus to teach. It’s unfortunate that BU thinks that everyone lives on campus or nearby.

When you take into account the fact that a number of professors canceled classes, it becomes clear that the logical thing would have been to cancel them altogether.

The recent snowstorm hit Binghamton harder than any others I remember. Apparently, it took a state of emergency to temporarily cancel classes for only an hour. But just because it stopped snowing didn’t mean the roads were suddenly safe. People couldn’t even dig out their vehicles to travel. It was only a day later, when the snow subsided, that most people finally had the chance to shovel and salt.

But people on campus should have had no problems, right? Wrong. Students in Hillside and Susquehanna communities couldn’t take a bus to class because OCCT wasn’t running on Friday. There was no available form of transportation. Yet the University was still adamant about having class.

I’m not being irrational here. New York City got less snow this time, but their schools were closed. Broome Community College classes were canceled. Other schools in the area were closed. So what makes us so special?

After attending Binghamton University for three years, I’ve only witnessed one genuine snow day, when classes were canceled in the morning and in the afternoon. This was two years ago, and it was due to hail and sleet. It took chunks of ice falling on our heads for the University to realize that having students and faculty traipsing outside might be a bad idea. Call me selfish, but I have a slightly higher regard for my safety.

Judging by BU’s stubbornness and this week’s weather, we may not get to experience a full snow day this year. So with this said, I’m off to pray for a power outage.