Rabria Moore/Journalism Student
Spring break is a distant memory for thousands of U-M faculty, staff and students this year. In October, the university cancelled the traditional week off in favor of a shorter semester.
Sarah Griffith, operations manager in the School of Journalism and New Media, has felt the effects of this change.
Griffith has a blended family with three kids in the Oxford School District (OSD) who are all disappointed about not being able to experience the traditional spring break. Unlike the university, OSD will have a spring break March 15-19.
“Unfortunately, they’re not going to have a trip this year, and it’s not like we take a trip every year, but we do like to reward them with just a break of some sort,” Griffith said.
Griffith and her husband both work at the university, so neither of them will be able to be home with the children, so she has other plans in place for them.
“My sister is actually a teacher in the school district, and she’s offered to take care of my little girl, and my sons will go with their other parents who are working remotely.”
Younger kids and their parents are not the only ones affected by the cancellation of spring break.
Byron Poindexter, a sophomore managerial finance major, is disappointed because he will not be able to join his family during spring break this year.
“While my family is in New Orleans for Spring Break, I will be here studying for midterms,” Poindexter said.
Even though he will not have a mid-semester break this year, Poindexter is excited for his upcoming summer plans.
“This summer, I plan on going to California to visit a friend for like a month, and then I also plan on volunteering,” he said.
This time last year, faculty and students were packing up to leave the university with a vacation and time to relax in mind. In fact, individuals were having a “double spring break” while the university was setting a plan in place to deal with the sudden outbreak of Covid-19.
