At about 7:45 p.m. Tuesday night, the University made an announcement Penn students and faculty hadn’t heard in over half a decade: due to the snowstorm, classes would be canceled the next day. And Wednesday night, the school announced an even more unprecedented second day off. Almost immediately, the news worked its way around the school. Students learned of their mini-vacation via an avalanche (pun intended) of notifications from friends, student groups and publications such as The Daily Pennsylvanian and Under the Button.
But while we’re glad to provide the information, University-wide shutdowns should be something students hear from the University itself, without actively seeking the information online or by calling 898-MELT. It would not have been too difficult for the school to have sent students e-mails alerting them of the closings. While word of mouth was successful at spreading this news, it might not always be so easy for word to get out in similar situations. In the future, Penn should let people know before they have to look at the announcement themselves.
That said, we appreciate Penn’s decision to make the calls to cancel classes early. Students could accordingly take a break from cramming for midterms, and — more importantly — most faculty and staff could stop worrying about how early they would have to wake up in order to make it to work on time. At other colleges and universities where a decision about a snow day came later, there was likely more anxiety and confusion. Thanks for letting us get sound sleep and days of relaxation.
