While there is a clear rationale behind the no spring break decision made by DePauw, it has affected my mental health and overall motivation to finish this semester greatly. Instead of giving us a few three-day weekends, DePauw grants students random Tuesdays or Wednesdays off which does little to those that still have homework due the following day. Speaking from personal experience, I have felt fatigued because of this never-ending workload I am carrying as a first-year who is used to breaks at certain points during the semester.
With a break, I am able to take some time to take care of myself, which I am lacking with the current schedule at DePauw. I have talked to many other students at DePauw about how they feel about spring break being canceled and everyone I have talked to has had the same complaint: they feel like there is a neverending cycle of work to do which makes it feel like a second midterm week. Instead of DePauw lightening the classwork for a week, the professors have added more to do this week in place of a spring break.
The idea of spring break is more than just traveling and partying, it is being able to take a week to decompress and think of other things besides homework and school in general. While there is typically homework assigned during this period, it is not nearly as close to what students receive during a normal week or even a light week in college. Not to mention, during spring break there are no structured class times that students need to attend which allows students to have time to sleep in and do things they do not usually have time to do.
For those reasons, I believe that the least DePauw could have done was give students a three-day weekend at least once. Random days during the week will not help students recover from the stress from school as effectively as consecutive days off.