This year Iowa State has seen some record low temperatures. These low temps, however, should not be keeping students from going to class. We are, after all, adults now and in the working world it would be expected of us to go to work and do our job. Being college students going to class is our job and the cold should not be something that stands in our way.

Going to school when the wind chill is nearly 40 degrees below zero may seem rough, but we have options on campus to make that trek a little easier. Cyride is a cold student’s friend. Walking to a class all the way across campus on a day with below zero temperatures is madness, but waiting at the bus stop for a few minutes and getting onto a heated Cyride will make your chances of frostbite quite a bit slimmer.

It is important to bundle up when the temperatures drop that low. Fashion doesn’t matter anymore when it comes to getting to class in the freezing temps. Wear a coat, hat and gloves. Trying to make sure that you have as little skin as possible showing is going to help you in the long run. We chose to go to school in Iowa, we should be prepared to handle the elements that it throws at us.

If your professor can make it to class, you should be able to make it to class. Many professors do not live in Ames so they have to drive in the winter conditions to teach you. If they arrive to a class and there are no students there to learn we are wasting their time, as well as our money. We pay the big bucks to go to class and on days we don’t show up we are wasting that money. If we were going to work at a job that day we wouldn’t stay home because our paychecks would be smaller, there is no reason we should be skipping the classes we have paid for. 

The world does not stop turning because it is cold in Iowa.  It is understandable that not all of the students on campus have cars, but many of them do and would be willing to drive their friends on to campus on a cold day. 

Iowa States policy on the weather is as reads “In the event of inclement weather or other emergency, the president or other designated representatives, in consultation with appropriate university administrators, may declare one of the following emergency situations to be in effect, classes are cancelled or the University and buildings are closed.” Even when classes are cancelled it is said in the policy that the University will still operate and staff will be expected to be on duty. In the case of the University and buildings being closed, only then does the staff not have to show up to work. 

Yes the students may think that it is too cold to be walking to class, but if professors are still showing up, students should still be showing up. There are many students that want to attend class, and take advantage of learning. These students do not want to take a day off because that is just another day that they cannot take advantage of all the Iowa State has to offer academically. 

In the long run it is up to each student, individually, to decide whether or not they want to show up to class. If choosing to skip on a cold day is the decision you make, you should be ready to face the consequences. 

We all knew what we were getting ourselves into when we took our acceptance at ISU. We have had moderate winters and warm winters and we go to class on those days. We should not be skipping class on the cold winters. Welcome to adulthood students, this is what learning to be responsible is all about.