Spring break is a time for students to kick back, relax, and not worry about assignments for a week or so. However, due to COVID-19, spring break has been canceled, and instead, students are given two single-day breaks: one break day in March and one in April.
I am fully aware of why it must be this way, and it is because if students traveled to a different state or country and brought COVID-19 back to Monmouth University the number of positive cases would skyrocket like it did last semester after the super spreader event at off-campus housing. Though this procedure is for the student’s safety, and to limit the number of COVID-19 cases, I am honestly very disappointed and frustrated that we students only get two separate days of break instead of an entire week.
Even though these “breaks” are supposed to minimize the number of people going on vacation, there will be some people who are going to travel. These students assume the risks of traveling even though we are in a pandemic.
On social media, I have seen countless students from Monmouth University post about how they are in Florida, California, or states known for their spring break parties. Very few people are socially distancing, wearing masks, or just being safe in general when on vacation. This could be because they want to make the most of the short amount of freedom they have until it’s time to go back to reality.
While I understand they are college students and these are supposed to be the best four years of our lives before we must start our professional careers, going on vacation during this time will only prolong this pandemic. The more people go out and party, the longer people will have to wear masks and socially distance. Everyone just wants this pandemic to be over already, and many are living like it is.
For the past two to three weeks I have had non-stop back-to-back work that I needed to complete. Just when I think I am finished and caught up with my work, all my teachers assign three to five more things that I need to get done. I feel like I am being suffocated with all the work that I must do, and it seems like there will be no end to it until after my finals. Even during what is supposed to be a break day I do not get a break, as I am using that time to catch up on my work.
Students are not getting an adequate break from their work. Instead, they are given a quick breather for a day and then must jump back into a mountain of assignments. I wished Monmouth University gave students a normal spring break, and then went virtual for a week or two. This way, students could’ve had a somewhat normal spring break and having that one to two weeks of online classes would limit the interaction between people and minimize the spread of the virus
I hope by next year, the pandemic is finally over and the restrictions are gone. I just want the full college experience and a normal college spring break, not in this warped way of having online classes, little to no interaction with my classmates, and not being able to see my friends unless under certain safety restrictions.
PHOTO COURTESY of Monmouth University
