With most other universities and colleges in the state enjoying spring break this week, BYU students continue to trudge through the monotonous continuation of classes straight to the end of the semester.
Forget about heading to St. George for a few days off. With no breaks from classes during winter semester, it's a long haul through the cold, dismal months.
During fall, students have Thanksgiving break to look forward to. Then there's just a three-week push to the end.
But during the winter, all students get are two measly days off - all of which occur at the beginning of the term.
People cannot do the same thing day after day, without any time to refresh and rejuvenate themselves.
In a school district near Seattle, students are given both a mid-winter as well as a spring break.
'It's so rainy and gloomy up here that we need a break in order to make it through,' said Melissa Davis of Renton, Wash.
Theater performances have intermissions. Sporting events have time-outs. So why don't winter semesters at BYU have more than two days off?
A representative from the registration office said BYU doesn't give its students a spring break because the university has to stop classes in time to host summer conferences and workshops, such as Women's Conference in early May.
However, this semester, because students were given a week off for the Olympics, the university extended its classes a week later than normal anyway.
Although a mid-semester weeklong vacation is not necessarily the best option, students need some sort of time off.
Instead of a spring break, why not offer a couple more three-or four-day weekends throughout the semester?
This would give students the break they need in order to survive the harsh demands of school without making it too hard to get back into the swing of things.
Since BYU gets out two weeks earlier than most other schools in the state, having these short breaks every winter would put us as starting our summer vacations a week earlier than anyone else - still giving the university time to host its conferences while keeping the student body from wearing themselves out.