Wednesday, Feb. 10, was the first day of the Spring 2021 semester that SUNY Oswego had to cancel in-person classes due to hazardous weather conditions. Cancellations due to snow are no strange occurrence to the students at SUNY Oswego, but this instance proved to be markedly different from previous cancellations in one way: instead of classes being completely canceled, they were moved to an online format.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, schools and universities have gotten more and more comfortable with providing remote instruction to their students, so it is easy to see how SUNY Oswego might find it beneficial to use remote instruction as an opportunity to continue classes even on days when weather makes it difficult to meet in person. However, the students seem to have a different opinion regarding the pros and cons of eliminating the snow day.
SUNY Oswego sophomore Josh Arnold said while he was glad he did not have to go into his 8 a.m. class, he still wished he had been able to enjoy a snow day. While he does admit that it was nice that he did not fall behind in a few of his classes, one of his lab groups is now behind because the other group was not affected by the virtual day. Despite lagging behind in his lab, Arnold prefers a full day off.
“I would rather have the snow day just to make things a bit easier,” Arnold said. “And a bit more fun too.”
A number of other students expressed similar sentiments regarding the switch from a snow day to a virtual day.
Opinions among the professors were not as uniform as they were within the student body. Dr. Zoë Misiewicz, a professor in the mathematics department, expressed a similar opinion to the students, though for different reasons. Misiewicz claims that she felt the switch to a remote day was “chaotic” as there was very little notice, and she had to make quick and difficult changes to adjust her coursework for a remote setting. She also believes that the students did not get much out of the experience in some of her shorter classes.
“I think we should do a few snow days,” Misewicz said. “If it gets to the point where we’re missing a lot of class, maybe we need to figure out some remote days. But if it’s just one, especially because they got rid of spring break… I think it would make sense.”
While Misiewicz and many others may not like the virtual classroom, some professors deem it necessary. While history professor David Deacon said he does not feel the same energy when teaching online, he would “rather go virtual” because missing too many days can put his classes too far behind schedule to catch up.
“It’s a good alternative,” Deacon said. “We have a lot to cover in a semester, especially this semester because it is short. If that’s a way to do it while keeping people safe, [it is] OK.”
Corey Cesare | The Oswegonian
