In spring 2020, ASU students thought they were getting an extended break. This year, they get none.
While students and staff express concerns about going straight through the semester, not all see it as a huge loss. The cancellation was announced Dec. 17 along with the news that the end date for this semester would be moved up to May 1.
Anna Paty, an off-campus interior design major, is content about the semester ending a week early.
“I honestly am very consistently burnout from school all the time and I’d rather just get it over with as soon as possible and have a super long summer,” she said.
There was not a huge shift for Paty when classes went online because she already lived at home pre-pandemic.
“I also am not commuting at all because of COVID so I am pretty much able to do my classes from wherever I want. I feel like it truly doesn’t really affect me for the most part,” Paty said.
Other students aren’t as pleased.
Josiah Stuart, a communications major, feels that students need a break now more than ever.
“It just takes away that moment where students get a second to catch their breath in the middle of the semester, when I can kind of take stock (of how I am doing),” he said.
Stuart explained that he wished students would have been more included in the discussions about how to deal with the pandemic.
“It’s just one more example of this school doing something that negatively impacts the students without consulting them first, without any kind of recourse. It just adds to my feeling that they don’t care,” Stuart said.
ASU, UA and NAU all have canceled spring break due to the pandemic.
Some faculty members made adjustments to their individual class schedules in order to provide some kind of mid-semester relief for their students.
Jennet Kirkpatrick, a political science teacher, adjusted her schedule to help her students how she can.
“ASU gave faculty notice early that there would be no spring break, which was helpful information. I planned a low-key mid-semester unit.” Kirkpatrick wrote in an email. “While it’s not an official break, we will not meet as a class, and there are fewer assignments.”
While other professors like Ian McGibbony, a copy editing teacher, simply moved their post-midterm schedule up a week.
“I understand that the pandemic is taking a toll on everyone in different ways, including burnout. I try to take that into account in class.” McGibbony said.
ASU canceled the break in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID on ASU’s campus from students and staff traveling.
“I miss traveling, visiting family and having fun times with friends. So I’m especially grateful to be teaching, which lends structure to my days and gives me a sense of purpose.” McGibbony said. “Right now, I’d rather have class run continuously than break it up with a week of aimless, and risky, downtime. Burnout is bad, but COVID-19 is worse.”
While continuous schooling is difficult for many, Mark Searle, ASU executive vice president and university provost, announced plans for returning to in-person learning in the fall on Monday, Feb. 16.
This announcement acts as a beacon of hope to students, suggesting that ASU will return to some form of normalcy in the near future.
“Doing the right thing can be exhausting. But if we do our part now, we can have our breaks later,” McGibbony said.
Contact the reporter at etutora@asu.edu.
Elinor Tutora is a staff reporter at Downtown Devil. She is currently a sophomore at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
