By Lauren Casale
Correspondent
Snow days are usually welcomed by students at the College. However, with this winter’s snow days consistently falling on the same days of the week, canceled classes have begun disrupting the lives of students and professors alike.
Professors have had to decide how to handle the time that canceled classes have forced them to lose.
“I teach on Mondays and Thursdays and it’s been difficult because two out of the four days effected have been Thursdays,” history professor Matthew Bender said. “I have had to cut material to fit into a class period and have asked students to do some of the in class work out of class.”
Women’s and gender studies professor Michelle J. Stecker said she extended class time in order to compensate for the time. “I have had my Thursday classes meet for an extra half an hour twice. Also, I’ve asked students to do some preparation before class, such as answering questions before they walk in the door.”
Even students have expressed a concern with the loss of class time.
“The first snow day was awesome, but it’s a little frustrating being so behind in the two classes I keep missing,” Dan Quinn, junior communication studies major, said.
Other students are concerned with their professors’ tactics for making up the lost time.
“I don’t like the snow days falling on the same days because my professors make me responsible for the material even though they don’t cover it,” Peter J. Anastasio Jr., junior history major, said.
Some professors have doubled lab periods according to Caitlyn Gibson, junior biology major.
“I like having days off, but it’s inconvenient when my professors make up for it by having a double lab which entails six hours of torture,” Gibson said.
Not every student at the College is lamenting the cancellations. The days off have provided additional time to catch up on work.
“The snow days completely saved me because I had a physics exam that I was totally unprepared for. Plus, my professors have been extremely accommodating, surprisingly,” Patrick Clancy, junior biology major, said.
Gary Lipton, professor of biology, has had more to think about then just the loss of class time.
“I order live materials for labs from other parts of the country and when the College is closed, no one is here so the live stuff just sits on the loading dock and things die,” he said.
Between dealing with the death of lab materials and figuring out ways to cover class content, Lipton summed up his strategy by saying, “You just kind of play it by ear.”
According to Bender, there is no universal solution for students and professors.
“Every solution has its benefits and drawbacks,” he said. “Professors have to figure out what the best way is to balance demands on our time and students’ time to cover the content.”
