It’s been 10 weeks since classes started and nine weeks since Labor Day. There are still three weeks until Thanksgiving break.
At every turn, there is a sick student. Every day, someone has called off their on-campus job or slept in. Every week, students miss a class. There are consequences to the poor planning of breaks.
Moving forward, something has to change. A fall break is a must.
Every other University appears to have an extended weekend for fall break. Why is SVSU any different? The break usually falls in October, before Halloween. Conveniently, it sits right in the middle of the semester.
A fall break allows students a moment to catch their breath and maybe even catch up on missed assignments if they have any. It would be extremely beneficial for every student’s GPA for extra time to get work done.
Not to mention, rest is necessary for health. The immune system wears down when stress is a big factor in a student’s life.
Now, an extended weekend won’t eliminate stress, but it will give a student a chance to regulate their stress. They could have time to do some self-care instead of constant homework.
Sleep is a hard thing to come by during the semester, and sleep is the most important tool for staying healthy. An extended weekend to catch up on sleep is extremely valuable. It would revamp students for at least a week or two. The energy in the classroom would spike for a minute instead of going straight down throughout the semester.
Also, sickness spreads like fire around this time of year. Planning a break to allow recovery time for students would be a godsend to those who fell ill during the season’s change and can’t afford to take sick days.
On the same page, rest is good for mental health. Time with family and friends plays a huge role in keeping a student motivated and happy. It’s hard to balance that when constantly under pressure to complete homework, attend classes and show up to work.
Time is of the essence, and some people live very far away from home. An added extended weekend to the academic calendar would mean families reunited without a big family function to worry about like Thanksgiving.
It would allow students to complete any work outside of classes like finally applying to get a part-time job if they haven’t found one. It could mean putting together a resume to prepare for applying to summer internships. A break during the middle of the semester would do a lot for a student to get their life together and reorganize.
There is a constant struggle to make money in this economy, so an added break would allow for an extra shift to be picked up for those who struggle financially so they can get through another week. Maybe a student is fine financially, but they want extra cash for the Christmas season. Whatever the situation might be, it is undeniable that extra time off would be beneficial.
Sure, full-time employees don’t have fall breaks or any real breaks for that matter, but young people require them. College students balance sports, jobs, classes and more all the while requiring more sleep than older people due to brain developments.
College students are building their life at this time, and they need all the help they can get. Stressful times require modern solutions that slow burnout.
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