The wind furiously blows across the campus, knocking us backwards and shoving us into the people behind us. Gallons of water seep through our jackets. During a storm, many slowly battle the rain in attempt to hike up to the Weyanoke trailers. They are armed with nothing but the battered school-provided umbrellas, trying to fend off the rain. On Monday, Jan. 23, hundreds of wet mathematicians  trekked up to Weyanoke for math class, shielded by the free umbrellas provided by the school. But are these umbrellas really protecting us against the wind?

Talk to someone at Jefferson who had class in the trailers when it rained, and most of them will mention the state of the school-provided umbrellas. Umbrellas now carry detached flaps and are unable to stay rigid. Everytime the wind blows, the umbrella flips inside out. They barely work. So, should they even be provided for us? And why should we need umbrellas when other schools don’t?

In 6th grade, my classroom was in the trailers. I would spend the entire school day in a single classroom, and everything from bathrooms to music classrooms would be inside the building. When it rained, we didn’t have school provided umbrellas, and we dried off fine in the classrooms. So why can’t our school do so too?

The reason why Jefferson needs umbrellas is because the school is currently under construction. We walk on rubble and up unpaved roads to reach our math classrooms. Puddles of eroded soil form on our paths, and with all those obstacles, it makes sense to stay dry from the rain to reduce complications.

The tattered condition of the umbrellas are understandable. Hundreds of us use them in a hasty rush to get to class; umbrellas aren’t a china set, they only assist you from point A to point B. Besides, there is a difference between walking a short distance on a well-paved path with an entire 6th grade, and walking a long and tedious upwards slope with a fraction of the school who won’t keep you company anyway due to the pressure of getting to class on time.

Even though the umbrellas fail to keep us from staying completely dry, an umbrella is an umbrella and the PTSA’s efforts to provide umbrellas was very thoughtful. Staying dry as possible, even if slightly dry, is necessary to concentrate on math class. Every little bit helps, and jokes aside, I appreciate the school-provided umbrellas.