The impact of COVID-19 caused the college to eliminate a traditional spring break and instead give two break days spread out this semester. The first break day took place on Thursday, March 4 and the next break day is scheduled for Friday, April 2.

Now that the first day off has come and gone, some students explained how they used the day for complete relaxation while others used the break day for academic reasons.

“I used the day to volunteer and help the theater build their set, spend time with friends and get homework done,” Sophomore Patrick Hampe said. “It was a day I needed.”

However, not everyone carved out their day for academic catch-up. Some like first-year student Cody Nonemaker used it to detach themselves from school and focus on themselves and work at home. He spent time with friends by going out to brunch and then cleaning his room.

While eliminating a spring break was done for the safety of students, some students are not happy with this change and would have preferred spring break had been kept instead of replacing it with two spread-out days.

“Even though I enjoyed the day off, I still think we should get a week off because I honestly feel we need more than just two days to relax from classes,” Nonemaker said.

Benjamin Petrison, a first-year cybersecurity major, said it feels like the college is punishing students for the actions of a few people.

“It kind of feels like they don’t trust us at all even though most of us are doing our part,” Petrison said. “If most people went on spring break they would mostly stay local and not do anything stupid.”

While some have issues with this change, others think this was done with good intentions. 

“I do think that the college made the right decision on this because safety is a top priority,” adjunct lecturer of music Lynne Ferrara said. “However, I also know that some students would have preferred to still have spring break.”

Along with their thoughts on this change, some students have agreed that even with the two break days there are still plenty of things people can do to pass the time, especially with better weather on the horizon.

“One of the best recommendations is going for a walk around campus,” physical education major Kaden Calafranesco said. “Or better yet, if your hometown is close and has a basketball court you can go play some basketball.”

Now that the Mohawk Valley is experiencing some milder weather, some say they are starting to feel “spring fever” coming on. 

“I have that feeling,” Petrison said. “This is another reason why I wished we had kept spring break instead of getting only these two break days, we need more than two days to relax from classes.”