Last night’s announcement from the Cherry Hill School District shocked and angered East students and staff. We speak, of course, about the controversial decision to cancel spring break for the 2022-2023 school year.

Because extreme winter storms led to dozens of snow days for Cherry Hill students, district administration decided to hold make-up days during what originally was spring break. This sudden decision shocked the East community in its entirety with dozens of complaints from families who’ve had to cancel their flights and vacations at the last minute.

Despite the controversy surrounding the decision, the reasoning for canceling spring break does seem to hold some merit. Cherry Hill schools experienced a globally record-breaking number of snow days this year. The snow coverage in the area this year provided disastrous consequences for Cherry Hill residents. Residents were unable to take even one step outside of their homes and with multiple reported cases of broken windshields from the hailstones measuring up to 9.403 inches in diameter. For those unaware, diameter means the distance from two opposite points on a circle. This is not to be confused with radius, which is half the length of the diameter. But we digress.

The only real benefit of the snow storms this past winter was that Cherry Hill residents finally were able to experience a true winter wonderland. The frigid temperatures caused students trouble even when school stayed in session. Many Cherry Hill East couples were spotted hugging and holding each other on the floors of the hallways to keep warm.

The most telling sign of the ice-cold weather, however, came from a notable change in student behavior. During the course of the year, it seemed that students gave us the cold shoulder everywhere we went.

We also spoke to a few members of the East community about the cancellation to measure public opinion of the change.

East student W.E. Joe King (‘21) expressed his sadness to us when he said “I’m pretty sad not gonna lie.” We asked him to elaborate on his thoughts and feelings, but he broke down in tears and walked away.

When asked about how the decision impacted his plans, Abe Rilfuuhls (‘17) said “I’ll just skip school, they can’t hold me.”

Finally, we asked Uphael Forhit (‘38) about her experience with the winter storms this year. She said “What is everyone talking about? We didn’t even have one snow day, let alone enough to justify canceling spring break.” Her response indicated that she may be suffering from a condition known as post-winter denial. She may have been so negatively impacted by the harsh storms this year that her mind repressed the memories as a coping mechanism.

It’s clear that the brutal snowstorms of this past winter will remain fresh in the minds of Cherry Hill residents for decades to come. More coverage will be released after thorough investigation, documenting possible causes of the extreme weather. In the meantime, please view the attached video displaying student response to the removal of spring break.

P.S. Abe Rilfuuls = April Fools!!