It is physically impossible to stay dry on campus. No matter how much you yearn to be warm or remain dry, it won’t happen. It all starts at about 7:58 when you are getting out of your car and are rushing to get to class. To even get to the actual campus you have to cross stairs that can be slippery. As you see, rain already ruins your day from the very start and increases your chances of being late. The traffic is something else, not to mention the sinkhole that formed in the rainstorm-which is a huge issue for students who take the Skirball exit, now have to pick a less efficient exit which will further prolong their drive to school. This now starts to affect how early you need to leave your house which means you need to get up early and overall switch your bedtime. The whole first period, you are going to be thinking about your hair that you straightened last night, which is now frizzy. “I’m so mad, I don’t want to do any work,” declares Lola Braun (2026), who is livid that she spent a big chunk of her Sunday night doing her hair just to shove it in a hood all day.  Another thing that’s going to be a bother is your feet freezing for the whole first period because most likely your shoes got soaked on the way to class. All of these are just the hardships you will face during the first hour on a rainy day at school.

Will there be school tomorrow? That was the burning question on every Milken student’s mind on Sunday, February 4. After all, the forecast was for unprecedented rain, an atmospheric river of biblical proportions, and Milken has a history of flooding.

Everyone had received an email about the possible shutdown of school. After reading that the final decision would be made the next day at 6 am, many students weren’t happy to have to wake up and check if there would be school, and if not, go back to sleep. Thankfully, another email was sent two hours later, letting us know school was in fact canceled. 

Outdoor schools in Southern California are now forced to face the challenge of adapting to various weather conditions. It is14th-wettest year for downtown Los Angeles on record at 23.99 inches according to NBC News. This is a very huge shift since the region is known to be sunny almost all year long and is supposed to be 70 degrees. One such weather phenomenon that holds both challenges and opportunities is rain. Starting last year, Milken’s structure, especially, has turned out to have a lot of issues, when it comes to rain. The rain has even led to some students having to evacuate their homes and cost students two full days of academic learning. Milken is an outdoor school and is not meant for rain. On such days, students have to go to extreme measures to stay dry.

The next challenge after your first class of the day is to get to lunch. “It’s so dark and gloomy, and impossible to find my friends,” utters Sabrina Bolour, as she can hardly see where to go while being cramped in between students on each side. At Milken, almost all the students eat lunch outside and of course the rain eliminates a huge amount of space for students to eat. The solution to such an issue is to make an exception to the rule: eating in the gym. The gym as you imagined is going to be very packed, loud, and not ideal for eating. In there students are also engaging in sports, like volleyball and basketball which can get annoying since you have to be on the lookout for a ball flying into you. This partially takes away your ability to relax and talk with your friends. Lucky for us, there is another option. If you enter a gym and see this isn’t for you, you can make your way to the theater. In the theater, although it is also going to be filled with the students, no one will be playing sports. If you are free on a rainy day, you will encounter some changes too. If you spend your free time in the library, expect way more students there than usual because there is other place they can really be. 

Sometimes the rain does leave a positive impact on the students. For instance, last year school was canceled for two whole days due to intense flooding. This has never really been an issue before since in Los Angeles all we accept is sunny skies instead of puddles. Next time you step into Milken, keep all these factors in mind.