By JENNIFER MILLS
Opinion Editor
Spring break is over for most university students. Bakersfield College students, however, are still waiting to be set free.
So while their brains are being loaded with news of war and a serious state budget crisis, they also are having to wait for a break from homework, tests and boring lectures.
Administrators should be more sensitive to students, and plan spring break earlier in the year, instead of four weeks from the end of the semester.
According to an article by Geoffrey Cowley in a February edition of Newsweek, living with anxiety can have a serious effect on the body, causing muscle tension, aches, pains and twitching eyes. Just watch any student before a major test.
“Prolonged stress has physiological consequences,” said Dr. Jonathan Steinberg in the article.
The state budget problems don’t help much, either. Because of tuition increases and cuts in classes, many students all over California have become angry and worried about their education.
A student’s wallet also has become a stress factor. Gas prices have increased dramatically since last semester, and students are having to weigh the cost of a full tank on top of other bills.
So why can’t BC have an earlier spring break?
While BC is on a semester system, many universities are on quarter systems, meaning that they split their year into three sections, instead of two. CSUB’s spring break fell right in between their second and third quarters, while BC’s break follows midterms.
Teachers should give midterms earlier in the year so that spring break could be planned for the first week of April.
But administrators can’t change the calendar now. So what can students do to help relieve their stress until spring break?
Deep breaths.
According to an article by Claudia Kalb in Newsweek, the practices of stretching and deep breathing are great ways to cope with anxiety.
An earlier spring break could not solve most of these stress factors, but it could at least give students a week to breathe and get their lives back together.