Traveling during a pandemic is not a great idea. Going out and partying probably isn’t either. Despite this, spring break has never been needed more by college students across the country.

CCSU is far from an outlier in its decision. According to research done by the the College Crisis Initiative at Davidson College, roughly 60 percent of colleges in America opted to cancel spring break this year.

I understand wanting to contain the spread of COVID-19 and am strongly against college students going down to Miami or other spring break getaways right now. But why no break?

Students are more drained than ever. While the idea of school from your childhood bedroom may have seemed fun the first few weeks, the reality that sets in after a year of online learning is a tough one to face. There is online fatigue, for starters, but also different expectations of students now.

If we had a spring break this semester, I think I might have slept for a few days straight. I know I’m not alone in that, either. Students are getting all the trials and tribulation of college learning without being able to enjoy the “college experience,” and man is it tiring.

The normal spring break is the perfect pause from all of the stress and responsibilities that come with college. Now, we’re just being told to pull up our boot straps and power through the next two months until the end.

This is my last semester at Central and its been the hardest to deal with, by far. I don’t even think the work has been harder, necessarily. Instead, things are simply more fast paced than ever. It feels as if I can’t catch a break to even think. It’s made for an incredibly challenging environment to learn in. I’m taking some classes that I love this semester, but I know I won’t retain any of the information I’m learning. Instead, learning feels like more of a chore than ever.

Taking school home with us last March has removed any barrier between our personal lives and professional ones. There is no “escape” when you know those assignments are just piling up on your laptop that’s just a few feet away from your couch.

I know I’m standing on my soapbox here for this rant. There’s nothing to do about it now but complain, so that’s what I’m here to do. I know my feelings are shared by many of my peers. This semester has been a disaster for everyone involved. A break is just one of the many things we need (a drink, for some, would probably suffice.)

Keeping campuses safe from the spread of COVID-19 is an ongoing battle, and a losing one in some regards. It’s impossible to stop students from doing what they want without becoming some sort of academic dictatorship. I’ve seen countless posts on social media over the past week of peers in Miami, the Carolinas and anywhere else that isn’t Connecticut. I’m not shaming them! I’m just saying doing things this way makes them worse than they would be otherwise.

At the end of the day, I’m not placing the blame solely on Central for this. I understand that many other colleges are doing the same. It’s a scramble to adapt to an environment that is constantly changing, just ask college students.