The Case for Spring Break

As the weather warms, most of us get this crazy urge to run outside. After so long of cramming and exhausting ourselves from the stresses of school and just life in general spring gives us the chance to renew and recoup. It's a shame that in spite of this that BYU makes the choice to not have a spring break as part of the routine. Let's face it, everyone needs a break every so often, and with midterms mostly finished by now we could really use some time to recoup and get ready for the rest of the term. It's been said over and over again that it's not healthy to push ourselves to a breaking point. I think it's worth it to remember that our own scriptures say that we don't need to run faster than we have strength. Yet there are some concerns and "benefits" that are raised that seem to try and take away this important time for students.
First there's the claim that BYU students shouldn't get involved in the Spring Break Culture of drinking and partying. To start with, let's look at one thing. BYU students are adults. Since so many of us serve missions, something else that's important to remember is that we have one of the oldest campuses in the nation, and well above the legal drinking age, meaning that if we really wanted to go out and get plowed, we would. There's plenty of other venues that happen outside of spring break that put peer pressure and create problems. But let's take a quick look at the facts, we live in Utah, which is hundreds of miles from a southern california beach. The likelihood of a BYU student making an active choice to go to one of these places, knowing full well what goes on there, is extremely unlikely.
The other claim that's made is the "benefit" of getting out earlier. First let's get serious. This is one week. It's basically a token amount of time that really isn't that much of a benefit. Most of us that are far from home would much rather be able to take some time to spend with family. Those of us that are staying on campus for spring and or even the summer term after that hardly get any opportunities to make the trip. Give us our spring break!