Author: Cailyn Schiltz

On Monday, UW-Madison's Faculty Senate voted to eliminate spring break over COVID-19 concerns.

The Spring 2021 semester will begin on Jan. 25, about a week later than the Spring semester usually starts. The semester will still end on April 30 and students will still have Passover (March 27) and Good Friday (April 2 and Saturday, April 3) off, according to WKOW. 

UW-Madison chose to forego spring break to discourage students from travelling long distances and bringing COVID-19 back to campus. 

UW-Madison students and instructors do not seem happy with this decision, according to recent tweets.

Some students express that it is hypocritical for Chancellor Blank to continue placing restrictions on students while in-person classes are still set to resume next week. 

“Y'all won't even cancel our in-person classes this semester which [are] a current threat, but you'll cancel our spring break? A JOKE,” student Gabbi Schmit tweeted. 

Badgers are also concerned about possible student and instructor burnout. 

“I obviously understand it from a public health standpoint,” PhD Candidate Andrea Fowler tweeted. “But student/instructor mental health in late March should be a concern too. Who knows where we'll be then?!” 

There will be no spring break whether classes are online or in person, and the University Committee seems supportive of this decision, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. 

“It's one step we can take proactively to prevent the spread of the virus this spring,” University Committee chairwoman Kirsten Wolf said.