Initially, I thought it was strange to separate spring break week into single days scattered throughout the whole spring semester. However, I understood why this change was introduced, since it would prevent students from traveling off campus and thus prevent a potential increase in COVID-19 cases. This seemed like a good plan. However, when it has been put into effect, I have seen the opposite results. There have been many issues and complications that have appeared as a result of having these single break days.
During this fall semester, the last week of school was our winter break. I was excited since students would have a longer break period, but felt stressed because the semester was condensed. However, with this new spring break plan, I felt the school year would be more relaxed. But I was not ready for what College of William and Mary students would have to experience.
Having single spring break days can increase the amount of stress students currently face. Personally, I have noticed that my spring “break” days are not breaks at all; I have been studying and doing homework nonstop as if it were a normal school day. To add on, although some spring break days are scattered near exam week, which can provide another day to study, it still defeats the purpose of it being a “break”, and turns it into more of a study hall.
It also bothers me that the spring “break” days are scattered on days I normally don’t have class. I have talked to a couple of other students who have had this experience and feel cheated by the College’s scheduling system. It is useless to have a day doing exactly what I would have been doing even without the help of a speak break day.
Along with this stress, there has been an increase in positive COVID-19 cases on campus. The main reason for the single spring break days was to decrease the number of positive cases, and although the cause of this uptick in cases may not correlate with the spring “break” days themselves, there could definitely be more effective ways to portion and schedule the breaks.
Overall, I wished there was a better way to experience spring break during my first year at the College. Yet, it is still absolutely possible for other students to have a positive experience. Some may have more useful spring break days compared to others and would not prefer any change to the system. It has been disastrous and not the college lifestyle I was envisioning, but I still hope to have better experiences in the following years
Bushra Bablu ‘24 is a remote student planning to double major in government and economics. Bushra serves as an associate opinions editor for The Flat Hat and the business manager for Flat Hat Magazine. Outside of The Flat Hat, Bushra is also involved with One for the World and Women in Business. Email Bushra at bebablu@email.wm.edu.