The snow days on campus raised some interesting questions: Is it really a snow day if there’s no snow? How many different ways are there to whine about the cold? And most importantly, what the hell are we supposed to do with ourselves?
The Daily Lobo came to the rescue with the answer to this last question. Sorry, we don’t know whether it’s still a snow day and are still in the process of counting ways to complain. We’ve got suggestions of what to do for the next snow day and a recap of what students did these last two days.
Staying out of trouble
The basic problem with snow days is this: It’s really, really, really cold. That makes it hard to enjoy the snow day.
Temperatures are simply too cold for New Mexicans, meaning the majority choose to stay inside and do nothing during the day off.
This, however, is a bad idea.
There are literally hundreds of possibilities for a snow day (even one without any snow), multiplied by the fact that no one else is outside. People can get away with all kinds of crazy stuff, and there’s no one there to report it.
For example, it would be a good day for street preaching — the crazy, right-wing street preaching that was popular on campus at the end of last semester. If someone is inclined to loudly scream racist and homophobic nonsense in a public place, a day this cold would be the perfect day to do it, because no one would hear it.
Another possibility: Prove your toughness by running naked through the cold. It’s so cold that it would definitively demonstrate that you have an extremely sturdy constitution, again with the added benefit of not troubling anyone else.
The opportunities are infinite, actually. Climb on stuff you’re not supposed to climb on. Cut down a favorite tree and take it home. Paint a random parked car pink. The imagination is the only limit, which, admittedly, may have been dulled by the mind-numbing cold. But give it a shot anyway. You may be more deviously creative than you thought.
To homework or not to homework
The day wasn’t completely fruitless.
Student Matt Thorson said he spent his first snow day the way students traditionally do: telling himself he would use the snow day productively and still find time to play in the snow.
“I was pretty excited about that because I had a French quiz that I could study for more,” he said. “After a while, I called a couple of my friends, and we went to the park hoping to build a snowman. Unfortunately, the snow was too dry to really make anything bigger than a snow ball.”
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Student Thomas Morgan said he wasted his first snow day relaxing, but then he wished for an extended vacation.
“(I told) myself that I would spend most of the day catching up on homework and reading,” he said. “Seeing that that wasn’t going to happen, I found myself saying the same thing to myself at work, and what would you know? It happened again, like some sort of Christmas miracle in February.”
Of anime and
snow angels
Residing in the comfort of his room, student Joey Barajas didn’t leave his home, instead choosing to watch “Dragon Ball Z” all day.
“It’s insane how much Dragon Ball Z I’ve been watching,” he said.
Other students like Jarred Caldwell spent the days playing board games, while Josh Kaminski spent his time rekindling his Pokémon skills. Student David Hernandez played Magic, a card game, with his friends.
“It’s all I do all day, every day,” Hernandez said.
Plenty of other students endured Albuquerque’s frigid temperatures to spend time with friends.
Student Layla Finch said she was surprised with how most UNM students handled the snow.
“I think it’s adorable when New Mexico gets snow, and since I’m from the Midwest, this honestly wasn’t anything,” she said. “I was a little surprised, but then again, New Mexico freaks out when there’s snow.”
