Temple University is one example of a University that decided to skip spring break altogether. Temple released an announcement in October 2020, stating that they would be joining other colleges in canceling spring break and extending winter break by a week. According to Temple, the reasons for this was to “give students who leave campus for the winter break at least two full weeks after New Year’s Day to self-quarantine, either at home or in off-campus housing, before the start of spring classes. As well as “ stop spring travel to make sure students are healthy and safe for the rest of the school year.”
I decided to survey students on their opinion of spring break being canceled and how they felt this semester. Forty students participated in this survey and responded anonymously. In this survey, 97.4% of participants stated that spring break helps with their overall health during the spring semester, 94% stated that they believe a spring break helps them perform better in the second half of the semester, and 81% stated that they believe a spring break is more important now more than ever because of virtual learning. One student even stated that: “I feel overwhelmed by not getting a spring break. Usually, during my spring break, I take the time to refresh my mental health and catch up on any activities necessary. I believe with being virtual Spring Break should’ve been required.”
As mentioned above, Temple wanted to stop spring break to avoid travel concerns, so I decided to see how students use their spring break. I provided a list of what students use spring break for and those reasons were; Mental health, relaxing, spending time with family/friends, working more for extra cash, vacation, catching up on school work, and catching up on personal activities. Out of all of the choices, the top three responses were; Mental health, relaxing and catching up on school work. What’s important to point out is out of those forty students not one said vacation. It seems that this year students didn’t want spring break for travel, but instead for their own health and relaxation.
Since school is completely online, Temple maybe could have found other alternatives or ideas. Temple implemented two wellness days, but some students don’t believe that is enough. They made suggestions such as five spread-out wellness days or at least having them on a Friday or Monday to have a long weekend. One student stated that they are “ Disappointed because this semester feels the hardest for me and not being able to catch a break is so stressful.” Overall, the students want Temple to understand and care for their mental health, and this semester, it feels as though it is being ignored.