By Matthew Brandy
Social Media Manager
On Friday, Oct. 23, KU’s Student Government Board sent out a mass email to the student body asking them to sign a petition to have President Hawkinson and the KU Administration revisit their recently released supplemental spring break plan.
Hawkinson’s plan calls for the cancellation of a traditional spring break, replacing it with five designated “reading days” spread throughout the semester.
In a statement released by Hawkinson on Oct. 12, this plan was briefly detailed. He wrote,“There will be no spring break. Instead, there will be five days throughout the semester in which classes will not be held (Feb. 11, March 10, April 2, 3 and 20). Finals will be held the week of May 3, with the semester ending May 8.”
In their email, SGB claims that the “decision was reached with zero student input and feedback before this decision was made.”
SGB added, “As we continue to navigate through this abnormal and unfamiliar semester, student mental health has been severely impacted by online learning. SGB believes it is not fair for students to have to work through 15 straight weeks of instruction, without any extended break.”
The decision to cancel spring break and instate the ‘reading days” was made by Hawkinson’s administration without any student input.
Student Body Treasurer Lindsey Yurchak said that SGB first heard about the plan when it was announced to the public. “We had no advanced detailing,” Yurchak said.
Yurchak added that the petition is “not necessarily meant to bring back spring break. Rather, it is to help bring student input to this important decision.”
