Due to COVID-19 and in order to limit the amount of exposure associated with traveling, Sacred Heart University has decided to cancel spring break this year.
Many students said that the week off is an essential part of the semester.
“Without spring break, I feel like we are lacking a much-needed break from our academic workload,” said sophomore Patrick Lurgio.
According to the Sacred Heart academic calendar, the first week of March was when spring break began last year.
For this semester, the Sacred Heart Coronavirus Planning Team said in an email, “our plan for our return for the spring semester builds on our successes from the fall and incorporates lessons learned.”
Part of the return plan included starting the semester a month later than previous years and eliminating spring break from the academic calendar.
“I wish that we could at least have some personal days off throughout the semester like other schools,” Lurgio said.
As an alternative to spring break, other institutions like SUNY Oneonta have given days off within the week as “personal wellness days.” The purpose of these days is so that students can still have time off from their vigorous schedules, according to the SUNY Oneonta academic calendar.
Even though there is no break, some faculty members have found ways to give students a bit of a break from heavy workloads.
“Since we started the semester late, I don’t mind too much going without a break. I included a week of lighter work for my classes right after midterms just so we could catch our breath a little bit,” said Dr. Emily Bryan of the Language, Literature and Catholic Studies department.
Seniors are missing out on their last college spring break this year, which many utilize to go on one final trip with their friends.
“I wanted to go to San Diego like I did last year,” said senior Michael DeSantis. “I’m pretty upset with not having a spring break as a senior.”
To get through the long semester, many students have found other things to look forward to.
“Having no spring break is unfortunate, but I am on the Sacred Heart cheerleading team, so we have been busy preparing for Nationals in April,” said junior Elizabeth Szachacz. “Being with my team and going to Nationals is helping me push through the semester.”
The Student Events Team (SET) has been holding a “Spring Break Staycation” week from March 1-7 for all students. There are events like beach charcuterie boards, sand art, mocktails and many more spring break-themed activities for students to take part in.
“I think our spring break events are giving students something to do since we can’t go anywhere this week and are keeping their spirits up despite what is going on in the world,” said senior Courtney Cardona, Vice President of SET.
Although the university took spring break away, there have been a lot of activities for students to participate in to ease the stress of academics.
The Coronavirus Planning Team includes activities going on around campus in each of their emails to ensure that students are always aware of things to do.
“At first, I was disappointed that there wouldn’t be spring break, but after thinking about how there wouldn’t be much to do because of COVID, I’m just happy that we are still able to be on campus and do some things safely,” said freshman Daniella Bruno.
