Too cool for school

The weather outside is more frightful than you think . . .

Matt Jacquez, Columnist

Don’t trust the weather. Weather is the canceller of plans, the forebearer of accidents, and ultimately a stressor of college life. Wherever you are, at whatever time and whatever place, you can expect the weather to come knocking at your door and rain on your personal parade.

 

The weather comes knocking on everyone’s doors at this time of the year in particular. It’s February: you walk around campus and notice the dull, gray skies and soft patches of snow and inevitably at some point think to yourself “I wish I could stay in today.” You aren’t alone if you’ve thought that, and in fact that may be the right decision.

 

This year the cold weather has been a Minnesota problem. MPR cited that 2018 saw a jump in frostbite cases in the Twin Cities area not necessarily because of low temperatures, but because of the insufficient amount of clothing that people were wearing. The Hennepin County Medical Center found that individuals admitted for frostbite were lacking the basic essentials of gloves, jackets, and hats because they underestimated the time they would be outdoors. Minnesotans are very confident in the cold. Battle-hardened from years of enduring frigid climate  conditions, we’ve become complacent about our combat gear.

 

My dad loves to ride his bike in the wintertime – he has a nice bike built for the snow – so he has to compensate with his clothing depending on the activity. It’s important to over-prepare. Layers are important to retain heat within the body and keep oneself away from the dangerous windchill, and minimizing the time we spend in cold temperature is an obvious add-on. On campus, we’re forced to move from building to building if we want to get to class, so it’s imperative that we stick to these intuitive rituals of keeping warm even if it comes at the price of personal aesthetics.

 

There’s another issue to be wary of in cold weather – sickness. Colds are literally in the air at this time of year, and plummeting temperatures have a substantial stake in that. We’re already predisposed for sickness. In comparison to the average adult, college students sleep less, diet worse, stress much, and are all exposed to the explosive cocktail known as peer-to-peer contact. All of this spells a weaker immune system and less-than-stellar performance against the season’s heavy-hitting diseases. It doesn’t help that according to the Huffington Post, this year’s vaccinations are historically less effective than they have been in years past. I got my flu shot in the fall, and for those of you who did the same, it’s a fair warning to look out for your health.

 

On the topic of health, the sidewalks may be a health hazard. I’ve stumbled, slipped, and slided on the sidewalk countless times and have seen the same happen to others. The ice around campus is pervasive and is unrelenting to a reckless step. A poor soul can quickly find themselves on the ground and deprived of all pride and dignity – if they’re lucky. Injuries resulting from falls can get serious, and the only real way to prevent catastrophe is to be cautious of your surroundings and the sidewalks.

 

The roads aren’t off the hook, either. If you commute often or, frankly, own a car at all, you have to be familiar with snow driving and what to do under the worst-case scenario. All the problems and annoying minutiae of a car get a magnitude worse when you factor in the unbearable cold and iced-up windows. Don’t drive if the cold is messing with your brakes. Don’t drive if you can’t see the road because of the ice on your windshield. Don’t drive when you can’t even grip the steering wheel because of the cold. When it comes to the cold weather, don’t take the unnecessary risks.

 

In short, don’t trust the weather.