Yesterday I awoke at 6 a.m. sharp for the first time this semester. My early rise was not in order to make that necessary trip to the gym, to finish my reading, or to make myself a balanced breakfast. Instead, I awoke with militant punctuality to do one thing – check my email.

At 6:01 a.m., the email slid into my inbox leaving my groggy-eyed, sleep-drunken face with an ear-to-ear smile. The message contained no more than one simple sentence, “Due to inclement weather, the University is closed Tuesday, Feb. 1.” With no salutation, I knew not who to thank and instead settled back into my pillow comforted by the knowledge of a “snow day.” On behalf of the student body, I graciously thank the SMU administration for acknowledging the necessity of a snow day.

Now, I know all of you Chicagoans, Bostonians, and New Yorkers are laughing at the idea of yesterday’s weather being “inclement” or worthy of its “snow day” designation. Indeed, the snow and ice we faced yesterday was insignificant compared with much of what the Northeast faces in a regular winter.

However, Tuesday’s snow day was more than just a much-needed respite from schoolwork.

The conditions of the roads alone threatened both safety and orderliness. Iced-over streets left cars stalled, wheels spinning, and pedestrians frightened. Moreover, when determining the severity of inclement weather, it’s paramount that conditions around SMU as well as the surrounding Dallas area are taken into consideration. Yesterday, commuter students and faculty from as far as Richardson and Plano could not have been expected to arrive safely to the SMU campus. All the same, pedestrian safety was significantly compromised with cars on the roads. I’m proud that our institution chose to value our safety over making sure we didn’t miss a single class.

What’s more, the temperature outside got down to twelve degrees Fahrenheit, and that’s not even considering wind chill. As college students, we endure the elements for most parts of the day – walking to class, to meals, to the gym, and even to the library. So, the weather – cold, sunny, rainy, or snowy – affects our spirits and (more importantly) our health. During this flu season, being exposed to one-degree wind-chill is both undesirable and unhealthy.

Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, sometimes we all just need a “snow day.” We need a day when responsibility is thrown to the wind and the wintry mix puts all of life on pause. The snow day is the calendrical equivalent of the “smelling the roses.” I personally think it’s essential to maintaining any semblance of sanity or joie de vivre.

Indeed, it really does mean a lot that our school recognizes the necessity of a snow day. It shows that SMU truly values our safety, health, and sanity during this winter season. In the words of one of my friend’s Facebook status, I’m glad RGT has got my back.

Finally, thank you to all of the people who did brave the weather and came to work at SMU. From the person who woke up at 6 a.m. to write me that glorious email to all those who came out to work at the Dedman Center and Umphrey Lee, thank you.

They didn’t get a snow day, but they made ours more enjoyable. They are the hard-working, constant laborers who make SMU a well-run, beautiful top-tier institution. They often go unrecognized, but their service and dedication are both impressive and humbling.

All in all, it was a successful snow day. Whether you enjoyed it bundled up with covers over your ears and hot cocoa at your bedside or piled under a stack of books labeled “catch up”, this snow day was a much-appreciated gift.

Drew Konow is a senior religious studies, foreign languages and literatures major. He can be reached for comments or questions at [email protected].