This year, students in Poudre School District have seen some interesting days off. We had a day off for extreme heat, and a day off for the extreme rainstorms that were causing road closures and flooding. Both days, have been seen as not necessary days to call off by many, and the district has received some backlash from the community. However, that should not be a contributing factor in deciding whether or not future days should be deemed unsafe for travel.

On Dec. 4 I heard many voices discussing the road conditions and their journeys to school. They were slipping, sliding, and stressing. Everyone I talked with expressed concern that PSD was not taking student safety into consideration. They, and I, understand the difficulties of calling off a school day; however, we wish that we did not feel as though we were putting ourselves in jeopardy on our way to school.

I was in an accident two weeks ago when it rained then snowed, and froze over in the night. My car spun around three times and I slammed into the curb. I was lucky that no other cars hit me and I was not physically injured. I bent the arms attaching my front wheel to my axle, and it is still currently in the shop. To say the least, I was really shaken up. It made me see the possible consequence in traveling in these weather conditions. On Dec. 3, when I was driving home from practice, I could barely keep my anxiety at bay, and on the morning of Dec. 4, I spent the majority of my drive fighting back tears. I am sure that many other new high school drivers felt uncomfortable and unsafe as well. I realize that my accident puts me in a different place than someone who has not experienced an event like that; however, nervous driving in the snow is not an uncommon occurrence.

PSD decides on school closures due to poor weather and road conditions by 5:30 a.m. that school day. This poses an issue for those who might have earlier sports, for example, the swim team. The swim team starts morning practices at 5:15 a.m., which means that by the time they travel to practices in rough conditions, and start practice, there is a possibility that PSD has not yet made a decision about closing school for the day.