Students who live in mountain areas or regions where snow is common have gotten used to snow days. Days with many inches of snow building snowmen, sledding or hitting the slopes on any day where real snow is available. Since COVID-19 took over, the world of education has unfortunately transferred everything to Zoom. It has taught educators and employers that even on days where it is physically impossible to be in school or the office, people should still work. This is an overwhelmingly toxic mindset to have. Not being open to giving students or adults one free day when they are stuck at home and could be re-charging proves that neither employers nor schools prioritize teachers’, students’ or any adult’s mental health. 

A snow day should be spent outside in the cold creating lifetime memories with your family and friends or inside bundled up with hot chocolate. Snow days used to offer much needed relief to break up the monotony and routine of life you inevitably enter as an adult or student. Now, unfortunately, snow days mean finding a computer, reliable Wi-Fi and the willpower to get on Zoom with people who also have no interest in anything occurring on this tiny box on a screen. 

  Some people cannot afford a personal computer or Wi-Fi at home to be able to be a part of this Zoom epidemic. If people do not have a computer at home, they must make an unsafe trek to the nearest library or a friend’s place in order to borrow one. Expecting students to go through every measure possible to attend a Zoom call is unfair. 

Snow days are imperative to not only students, but anyone with a full-time job as well. It is not fair to assume every adult has access to a computer or working Wi-Fi in their home. The capitalistic narrative that even on days where it is physically impossible to go to school or work, you should be working 9-5 behind a computer in your home is outdated and purely detrimental to people’s mental health. Some adults who have to stay home have kids who also have a snow day, and being a parent is not something that can be put on hold just because their boss needs them to join a Zoom call on a blizzardy day. 

While it is true that people signed up for school or work, it is not fair to people who work completely in-person to make a transition online for only one or two days. Before Zoom, when people were able to enjoy the day off to recharge, the world did not end and the economy did not crash. From a human decency mindset, it is okay to have a day off and take a fun snow day outside to break up the constant routine of adult life.