Seniors on their last spring break: ‘Wellness days were trash’
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — As their last spring break approaches, Penn State seniors find comfort for the first time in two unusual years.
When the prolonged 2020 spring break ended in an online semester, students turned to the 2021 spring break with hopes of normalcy. However, after Penn State replaced the week-long break in March 2021 with wellness days, hopes “aren’t high” anymore. With this year’s spring break in full effect, Penn State seniors share getaway plans and career-prepping agenda while reflecting on last year’s alternative.
With her class going abroad for the week, Caroline Lim (senior — human-centered design and development) tries to “have no expectations” at all for the coming break.
“My expectations aren’t high, in fact, I’m expecting bad things,” she said. “I’m just hoping the collateral is to a lesser extent than last year.”
This year, spring break is set to be from March 6–12. After wrapping up two strenuous weekends with THON and State Patty’s, Lim and other graduating seniors plan on a much-needed break from State College.
“When you’re a senior, you’re typically busy. And if all your other friends are also seniors, you can’t meet up, especially if you have jobs,” Lim said while putting together her Atlantic City, New Jersey getaway with friends. “I guess it’s a last moment to make memories.”
Lim’s peer and friend Julie Ho was also looking forward to her trip to Boston until she canceled it last-minute to “relax” and “reflect” before her graduation.
“Half [of break] I’ll spend on my portfolio. The other half, I’ll go out and go to local cafes, thrift, and all my hobbies [including] photography and explore all the entrepreneurship themes there,” Ho (senior — HCDD) said.
Last year, the university had wellness days in place instead of a traditional spring break for students. Wellness days offered students non-instructional days with wellness programs on specific weekdays.
“The decision to eliminate spring break was made to reduce spread of the coronavirus through travel,” Penn State announced in their wellness day press releases. “In addition to no instruction, special programs will be developed by committees reflecting the depth and breadth of Penn State’s expertise to support and engage students, instructors and staff.”
Ho thought the wellness days “helped a little as an alternative” to spring break.
“My semester was hectic as I took mostly coding classes. But we got through it,” she said. “The wellness days did help.”
However, Nicholas Gehring begged to differ.
“Honestly the wellness days were trash compared to spring break,” Gehring (senior-computer science) said. “It’s a day for you to unwind and relax but when it’s in the middle of the week like that, you don’t really have that time for yourself.”
A Dresher, Pennsylvania native, Gehring looks forward to going home for spring break and hanging out with his high school friends.
“Career-wise, it’s not the big focus for me. I guess I don’t hold it with that much importance,” he said.
Gehring’s roommate Brian Rogers was on the same page about wellness days, deeming them “counter-intuitive.”
“Although you didn’t have class on wellness days and nothing was due on almost all wellness days, you could still have the assignments due […] at the start of the next day. Obviously, you’re going to be spending the wellness days doing that,” Rogers (senior-computer science) said. “That was the dumbest idea I’ve ever seen.”
Regardless, Rogers thought Penn State’s return to an actual spring break was “a good idea” as he prepared for his West Palm beach vacation.
While traveling home is at hand for U.S. natives like Ho and Gehring, it’s costly and time-consuming for international students. Therefore, Penn State internationals like Eunha Kim turned to Alternative Breaks. The Penn State Alternative Breaks program provides students with opportunities to support a designated community on trips to locations nearby.
Since visa complications delayed her graduation unexpectedly, Kim (senior-information sciences and technology) was looking for an easily accessible and cost-effective plan. Her March trip to Jonesville, Virginia meets the criteria.
“Penn State supports most of the cost of the program and students only have to pay about $100 during these eight days,” she said.
The program also helps facilitate a better cultural understanding and create an immersive learning experience as Kim enjoys her last spring break.
“I always spend time with my Korean friends during the breaks, but for this program, I look forward to spending time with my other foreign friends,” Kim said.
Before students leave for spring break, Kim and her classmates think there aren’t any precautions the university should enforce to prevent a Covid surge.
“There’s not much you can do before. Realistically, the best thing they could do [..] is random testing,” Gehring said.
Rogers agreed, adding that the university is already preventing the spread through weekly testing for people who aren’t vaccinated.
“I don’t think it’s a good job but it’s the best they can do,” he said.
