As college students, we are stressed out as it is. What isn’t helping is the fact that colleges and universities nationwide have cancelled spring break for the spring 2021 semester. Of course, this is entirely justified. Giving students a week or two off to go home or travel would certainly jeopardize finishing the rest of the semester on campus as it could potentially contribute to an increase of COVID-19 cases. However, spring break is more than an opportunity to vacation.
Many students look forward to the reprieve from the stress of school work. In times like these, with everyone more stressed than usual and struggling with classes and extracurriculars, some sort of a break is an opportunity that allows students to catch up not only on their schoolwork, but on their self-care as well. Bucknell University has considered this aspect and while they can’t safely give us a proper spring break, they did incorporate a few wellness days into the semester. Placed periodically throughout the semester, these wellness days are slightly controversial between the students. Some believe that it was a smart and necessary move on behalf of the institution; however, the fact that these wellness days are spread limits how students can spend them since professors still assign work due the next day.
I suppose this is a plea to the professors and to the parents with remote students to remember to have empathy for your students and children. This is also a reminder to the students that feel they are too stressed and feel that their mood and quality of work has declined. This is not a normal semester and this is not a normal time. More importantly, if you feel you need to take a step back and relax, do it. Go watch your favorite tv show, go hang out with your friends, or go for a walk.
Sacrificing a week or two of time to potentially prevent an increase of COVID-19 cases is a small task in the grand scheme of it all, but that doesn’t mean it won’t affect students, professors, and parents everywhere. Hopefully we will be able to have a proper spring break next year but in the meantime, make the most of what we can.