From April 23 to 26, Cornell had its second round of wellness days for the semester. While many students enjoyed the break from classes, some expressed it was not a sufficient replacement for a spring break.
Steven Gershik ’21 did not travel during the wellness days, opting to get his second COVID-19 vaccine dose in Ithaca. However, he did recently travel for an on-site job interview and said he was frustrated with how strict Cornell’s travel policies were.
“Many people with legitimate reasons have to not only worry about traveling for family or other matters but also whether they will get approved by Cornell,” Gershik said.
Atreya Iyer ’22 spent his wellness day relaxing and enjoying the outdoors in Ithaca, but said that four days wasn’t enough.
“The wellness days could not have come at a better time,” Iyer said. “I definitely needed a break.”
Amanda Lazar ’22 agreed wellness days were too little, too late and noted she missed the normal, week-long spring break..
“I’m exhausted,” she said. “The whole month of April has been a ton of work, and we haven’t had a break since early March, a long time.”
Lazar spent her break catching up on homework and hiking at Taughannock Falls State Park with friends. Despite accumulating stress in the leadup to the four day weekend, Lazar is happy to have the days off, and said they were “restorative, fun and peaceful.”
James Meyers ’22 spent his break working on an assignment that was due later in the week. He said he got to spend some time with a few friends but was frustrated that he was not able to fully relax because of his work.
He was happy to get a break, but thought it could have been better. Meyers said that the break felt like little more than a long weekend before coursework picked up.
“The semester has not been amazing. I’ve generally been burnt out with online learning and have not found as much support in my classes as usual,” he said. “A normal semester with a real spring break will be such a relief.”