Many U.S. Colleges Cancel, Shorten Spring Break

TUESDAY, March 9, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Spring break has been canceled or scaled back by many U.S. colleges in an attempt to reduce partying that could spread COVID-19.

Texas A&M University decided on a three-day weekend instead of an entire week off for students, while the University of Alabama and the University of Wisconsin-Madison nixed spring break but will give students a day off later in the semester, the Associated Press reported.

The University of Mississippi also canceled spring break, but will end the semester a week early.

And while many college students will still travel to sunny party spots or take other trips such as skiing in the mountains, others say they reluctantly decided not to travel this year, the AP reported.

Michigan Tech’s weeklong break began Friday, but 21-year-old Justin Martin decided to visit family in Michigan instead of making that epic senior year trip to Florida he once envisioned.

“I don’t want to travel all that way, first of all, especially with everything being shut down. It just doesn’t seem worth it, especially with COVID too,” he told the AP.

“Definitely, no planned trips. Definitely wearing masks this year,” said Brady Stone, a 21-year-old journalism major at Texas A&M. “We are kind of hunkering down and staying safe. I think most of us, if we are going anywhere, it is back to their hometowns.”

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