This article originally written by Yusra Asif. Yusra is a senior media communications major at the University of Delaware and a digital content intern for WJBR. Asif works as the associate news editor at The Review and a broadcast news reporter at the Student Television Network at UD. Please note, some of the content below may be opinionated.
The University of Delaware has announced that it is canceling spring break — usually from March 28 to April 4 — in its effort to stop the spread of COVID-19. An email sent out by the university stated that “this year there will be no spring break to minimize off-campus travel.”
With more than 4000 students — about 60% capacity — back on campus, the university plans to keep human interaction at its minimum.
While the university’s bold measures come in response to limiting the spread of COVID-19, not all students feel that way. Some believe that a semester with no break might result in high levels of stress — a large number of students utilize the break period to catch up with the readings as they approach the final exams.
As a senior media communications major at UD, the break week is a crucial time for me to destress and catch up on my readings and deadlines, and prepare myself for the approaching final exams.
The spring break has never been more important for student mental health; with most classes being online and students constantly looking at their computer screens, many may experience exhaustion by the time of spring break.
While the university’s decision comes from a place of protecting the health and well-being of its students and other staff members, most people on campus are aware of the dangers of COVID-19 and the repercussions of their travel. If they at all choose to travel outside of Newark, they would have to quarantine themselves in the university’s isolation facilities — the majority of the students wouldn’t prefer that.
Cancelling the break is like making a general assumption that the campus community isn’t responsible enough to understand that they would be jeopardizing the health and safety of everybody on campus, and will choose to travel despite the harmful consequences.