Ski trip receives positive reviews from student body

With the cancelation of TMU’s “Disney Day” in 2023, the Campus Life Team worked over the ensuing months to find a fitting and fun replacement for the university's day off from classes, which has come to be known as “Reading Day.”

This work was composed of planning meetings and surveys to decide what could be a suitable substitute for the day. One such survey was offered for students to take last year during announcements at chapel. In this survey, students provided their input about what should be the theme or event for the day. According to the Campus Life Team, 40% of the student body voted to take a trip to the mountains for a ski day, so that is what the team decided to do.     

On Tuesday morning, students made the 1.5-hour drive up to Mountain High Resort to participate in the event. Regarding the day, Campus Life stated, “We just wanted to plan a fun activity, off campus, that would bring people together. We wanted to incorporate something new and fun.”

TMU students got a deal on ski rentals and lift tickets, costing a total of $75 or $50 for simply a lift ticket if the student already had equipment. Arriving as the resort opened, the students started their day riding the slopes and continued until closing.

Despite the warmer weather and somewhat icy conditions, many students enjoyed their time. Bradley Biedebach, a sophomore at TMU, commented on his experience with a lot of passion, “Absolutely superb! I am blown away by the student life team for throwing this amazing event! Way to go, guys! I’m looking forward to future student life events and hope they keep ski day a tradition!”   

Although many students drove to the mountains for the day, some decided to stay behind. One such student was Anna-Cate Kennis. Kennis believed the idea of a ski day was fun but did not feel like she could make the trip this year.

“I remember taking a survey last year but kind of forgot about the event,” she said. “Since there weren’t any more advertisements about it until a couple of weeks ago, I didn’t have enough time to get ski equipment like snow clothes.”

Kennis’ story reflects the new challenges that come with an event taking place in the snow.

Overall, when contrasting this event with the previous theme of “Disney Day,” it is clear that the ski trip is a unique twist on how to spend “Reading Day.” Despite the new activity, students seemed to have had an exciting day.

One student, Ryan Walsh, observed on his time at the event, stating, “I would want the ski trip again; it was fun! There was constant activity, hanging out with friends and no waiting in lines!”

Campus Life expressed a similar take on the success of the event.

“We’re honestly super happy with the number (of students) we got,” one Campus Life official stated. “We believe it has the potential to be even bigger next year! We hope that this is a permanent thing if students enjoy it!”