By Corbin Carkner’25
Many people around campus have been asking the same question. Why don’t we get snow days at boarding school? Snow and ice on campuses are very dangerous and can lead to many disasters and accidents. Boarding schools need to have snow days because they can benefit students. Corbin Carkner ‘25, in the Civic Journalism and Media Making class at the Frederick Gunn School, asked his buddy, Itai Golan ‘25, from the Notre Dame of West Haven private school in Connecticut, some questions about snow days at a boarding school. Golan attended the South Kent School last year, a fellow boarding school in Connecticut that also did not allow snow days.
Carkner’s first question was: “Why could snow and ice be dangerous at boarding school, and why do you appreciate having snow days now rather than not having them at South Kent last year?” Itai responded, “It could be dangerous because we could slip and fall on long walks to the classrooms and the rink. I appreciate not having to get in a car accident and just having a nice day to chill. Or I can put on my snow gear and have a nice, wonderful winter day to play in the snow.” As an outsider who gets snow days, Itai has also experienced boarding school life, agreeing that boarding school students shouldn’t miss out on the fun.
Another important point Golan made concerned the day student population at boarding schools. At the Frederick Gunn School, around 25% of our students are day students, meaning that during inclement weather, when the roads are icy and snowy, they still have to drive to school, or face commitment absences. This could lead to dangerous accidents, all because of no snow days.
Gunn Varsity Hockey player Trey Dionne also had some brilliant insights into this controversy. He, too, believes that boarding schools should have snow days and that they are a great time to get a break from class, hard work, and tiring sports and have fun with your friends in the snow. “We would have fun in the snow instead of being tired and lazy in the classroom.” Wouldn’t you like to wake up one snowy morning in your dorm, check your email, and see the words “SNOW DAY” in the email’s subject? That would brighten everyone’s day. Boarding schools should start considering having snow days for the benefit of their students and futures.
