Students express concern over lack of traditional Spring Break

This year, USC Aiken will not be having a spring break week. Instead, four days spread out between February and April have been set aside as “mental health days.”

These days are meant to allow students to take a break from school. However, many students on campus have assignments on those days, and they feel as though their mental health is being disregarded.

Taylor Averette, a junior nursing student, believes that these break days are important in order for the students to continue doing well in school.

“I think having an entire day off without having to think about school would be beneficial psychologically and academically,” he said. “In order for it to be a mental health day, it should feel like school is on pause for the day.”

Taylor Drennen, a senior English major, is one of the many students that feels they need time without school-related stress.

“Spring break is a really vital time in the spring semester. Everyone gets really overwhelmed with assignments and without that, the mental health days are all we have. We need that time to focus on us and not have to worry about what’s due for just one day.”

These break days are especially important since students went without a fall break last semester.

According to an anonymous student who wishes to remain unidentified, “We didn’t have a fall break and that hit a lot of students hard. Most of us work and some students have children. They don’t see how essential these breaks are for us.”