Although talk has circulated across campus via social media within the past week about a second spring break, Humboldt State officials say that it’s not possible without jeopardizing student learning outcomes.
“Back in December, the university announced changes to the spring schedule,” Grant Scott-Goforth, the communications specialist for the university, said. “We know it’s caused some frustration, but HSU continues to have to make changes to the ever-changing environment of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
This year’s spring break took place during the week of Feb. 22-26, only a month into the semester. Scott-Goforth said that the difficult decision was to help adapt to requirements from the California Governor’s Office and the CSU Chancellor’s Office amid the regional “stay at home” order announced in December.
HSU students just entered the second half of the semester and they feel concerned about the productivity of the remainder of the semester.
After feeling burnt out already with only Caesar Chavez Day to look forward to, students are hoping for some sort of help from the school or their professors.
Ali Holen is graduating from HSU in May with a bachelor’s in kinesiology and a minor in pre-physical therapy and dance studies. She feels as though some sort of help to alleviate some pressure off of workload would allow for many students to get their footing and finish off the semester strong.
“The motivation is little to none and the assignments/exams just keep coming,” Holen said.
For Spring Break, Holen traveled to Santa Barbara with her boyfriend. Although they both worked hard to get all their assigned material done beforehand, they ended up spending more time on school during the break than they had previously expected.
The earliness of the break ended up taking a toll on Holen and she is not the only one who feels this way. Both her roommates and coworkers who are students all have similar feelings where they feel like they can’t catch their breath.
Within the past week, students across campus made it known that they are beginning to feel the burden of this long spring semester. In response, some faculty members understand that a second spring break is not possible, but are offering an informal break to allow students to catch up.
During the week of Mar.29 to April 2, Marcy Burstiner, a professor in the journalism department at HSU, is not eliminating any assignments, but rather giving students the option to do them for extra credit. It will ensure that students who can do the work don’t feel cheated out of learning opportunities.
“Those who feel overwhelmed can skip them and then those who are worried about having fallen behind can make up some work and gain extra credit,” Burstiner said.
There are seven weeks until finals week and the end of the Spring 2021 semester for HSU students.
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