Opinion: Students Have Mixed Reactions About Cancelled Spring Break

Winter break is quickly approaching for students as the fall semester nears the end. Thus, in the midst of a pandemic and the level of uncertainty that still remains in the world, universities have been tasked with deciding what to do for the spring semester.

Liberty updated the university calendar Oct. 7 in regard to the spring semester schedule. Major updates include remote instruction for 8-week classes until Jan. 25 and remote instruction for 16-week classes until Jan. 27.

Along with this, spring break has been canceled and will leave students without a break from academics for the entirety of the semester, minus a few extra days at Easter. Many students have shared their thoughts on Liberty’s decision and have expressed how it will affect them. 

“It doesn’t really make sense to me,” sophomore Allen Moro said. “COVID cases have been going down in the last few weeks and I think they need to wait and see how things are going to be in the spring before they make a decision like that.”

However, Liberty is not the only university that has taken a plan of action, hoping to eliminate the potential for a rise in coronavirus cases when students return from winter break and spring break.

Other universities such as the University of Kentucky, Virginia Commonwealth University, Florida State University, Purdue University and Ohio State University also decided to eliminate spring break. Some colleges, such as Baylor University, made the decision to extend winter break to replace the absence of spring break.

There is no doubt that the decision to cancel spring break was not taken lightly. Students utilize spring break as a way to take time apart from their academics and get off campus to vacation with friends or visit family back home.

“It allows me to have a break from schoolwork and being on campus,” sophomore Lauren Kennedy said. “I’m able to go home and spend time with my family, which is always appreciated.”

Although it is important to plan ahead, is Liberty’s decision to cancel spring break too far in advance? As the pandemic proves to be unpredictable, I believe it have been better to wait longer before coming to a conclusion on what to do.

Without spring break, students will be on campus taking classes from January until May. This raises concern for the continuance of students’ motivation and whether or not they will burn out faster without a break. After all, the pressure and intensity of being a full-time student is often undermined, but is very surreal when juggling academics, extracurricular activities and a social life.

Whether students like it or not, spring break is no longer a part of the university’s 2021 calendar. It is questionable if another semester without a break will have a negative effect on the mental health of students, but it is also something that the student body will have to endure together with lighthearted spirits.

Lauren Shank is an Opinion Writer.