‘Better Than Nothing’: Students Grapple With Penn State’s ‘Wellness Days’
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Nadith Dharmasena woke up on a bright weekday morning to a beam of sunlight pouring in through his bedroom window. After rubbing his eyes and sitting upright, he glanced at his alarm clock: 11 a.m.
Normally, this would’ve sent a chill down his spine. But Dharmasena didn’t jolt out of bed, panic or even worry. Instead, for the first time all semester, he felt relaxed.
Tuesday, Feb. 9 was the first of Penn State’s spring semester “wellness days” — planned non-instructional days designed to give students time off without a formal spring break, which would prompt widespread student travel and potentially spread COVID-19. Dharmasena took advantage of the opportunity and broke free of his everyday routine.
“I’m at home, so nothing really changes no matter what happens,” Dharmasena, a junior studying computer science, said. “I woke up late that day, so it was nice that I didn’t need to go to class. I didn’t want to be looking at the screen all day, because basically every day now is just looking at a screen for five hours. That break was nice.”
While Dharmasena used the day off as a much-needed break from virtual learning, other students believe Penn State’s strategy isn’t doing enough. Tanner Wildasin, a sophomore studying computer science, spent his wellness day studying for an exam slated for the next day.
“It just sucked. It was so stupid,” Wildasin said. “What’s the point of a day off if you spend it studying for school anyway? That just feels pretty wrong.”
Other students voiced concerns about spending the wellness day completing pre-assigned coursework regardless. Nursing student Jessica Matthews said she saw it coming.
“It doesn’t make sense for every professor to change their lesson plans to fit some kind of last-minute effort,” Matthews said. “How can [students] act surprised when there’s still work to do?”
Matthews said she was also frustrated by the frequency of Penn State’s wellness days. The university’s current spring semester plans included just three of them — a Tuesday in February, a Thursday in March and a Wednesday in April.
Penn State Provost Nick Jones said the university scheduled each for different days of the week to prevent courses from being affected disproportionally. He said Penn State hopes the wellness days give students a brief, albeit short, break from their work.
“With three wellness days, we will have one day in each full month throughout the spring semester to take a pause in teaching and learning and to focus on wellness, self-care and the health of our community in these unprecedented times,” Jones said in an October press release announcing the wellness days.
Jones and a number of other administrators helped plan the university’s spring semester. A committee consisting of Student Affairs and Faculty Senate officials spearheaded efforts to determine when and how Penn State would implement wellness days.
Naturally, some students weren’t thrilled they weren’t represented at the table.
“I wish we could’ve had a chance to talk about it, you know?” said Rahul Shekar, a junior studying computer science. “They don’t know what it’s like going to college like we do, especially these days.”
Additionally, some students fear a 16-week semester without a proper pause — like a traditional spring break — could hurt their mental health and productivity.
“It’s definitely been hard. Each day kind of feels the same, and it’s tough to keep going without [a break] coming up,” said Xavion Huffman, a junior studying sociology. “I guess [wellness days] are better than nothing, though.”
Students’ mental health concerns haven’t gone unnoticed by Penn State officials. Administrators at the university’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) said Penn State has expanded online programming, including telemedicine and virtual therapy sessions, to help students this spring.
Still, some officials feel nothing can replace a day off.
“My understanding of the wellness days is that they’re an attempt to provide an institutionally sanctioned break that still gives people a day of rest and an opportunity to do what they need to do to focus on wellness,” said Dr. Ben Locke, senior director of CAPS. “It’s a nod of trying to do the right thing — something that’s hard in a pandemic.”
Although Locke and his staff didn’t play a direct role in developing Penn State’s wellness days, he feels they provide students a chance to take a breather and focus on themselves for a change.
“The first thing you gotta figure out is, ‘What makes me well? What makes me tick? What allows me to be happy and productive?’” Locke said. “For somebody, it’s running. Or maybe meditation or music. No matter what, use these days to make those things happen.”
For Dharmasena, it’s sleeping in. And that’s exactly what he’s got planned for Thursday, March 11.
