Spring break not so great
Due to the majority of colleges that participate in “Spring Break,” BYU students find themselves envious of other students around the country. College students claim that “Spring Break” gives students a much needed break from school. Just because class stops doesn’t mean that the workload stops. Students still carry the burden of homework, papers and projects due when they return from “Spring Break”. This pseudo vacation that other schools experience pales in comparison to the pure joy BYU students feel as they complete the semester up to two weeks earlier.
Students who have “Spring Break” are more inclined to participate in harmful and dangerous activities. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, “the average male college student reported drinking 18 drinks per day, and the average female college student reported up to 10 drinks per day.” These careless collegians cannot comprehend the negative effects that could likely follow.
In addition to a “Spring Break” not being a healthy and safe idea for college students, the university simply cannot afford the time off. “Our schedule does not accommodate it,” Carri Jenkins, Brigham Young University spokeswoman, said. “We have two summer terms and education week.”
If BYU were to implement a “Spring Break,” students would recognize the benefits and advantages they previously had before the change was made.
— Haylie Mathis, Reno, Nevada;
Chloe Andersen, Logan, Utah;
Connor Ross, Reno, Nevada;
Cody Williams, Highland, Utah
An eternal education
I never thought that I would attend this university. I remember the relief I felt when I received my rejection email. BYU was too competitive for me.
Later, I moved to Provo on a whim and started attending sporting games. My blood soon thickened to blue. During my first semester, I read a BYU speech about BYU education. My perspective changed.
BYU isn’t just a place where “every Mormon” goes to get married and continues living in a bubble because it’s expected. Here at BYU, the ground is dedicated for eternal purposes. At the university I transferred from, I took classes that I thought would benefit my future family. Fortunately here at BYU, this is already done for me. Every professor and student here has the mindset of preparing his or her future family for success.
President Worthen said at the beginning of this fall semester that “if you don’t understand — or you forget — the real goal of this BYU experience, it will be difficult at times to do the hard things that acquiring the full benefit of that education will require.” BYU has much to offer, therefore, we cannot forget the eternal education offered here and its eternal purpose.
— Kortni White
Gilbert, Arizona
Enter to learn, but don’t park anywhere
If I had a dollar for every time I found a parking citation on my car on BYU campus, I’d still be in the hole about $174. The Parking Police seem to go after everybody these days. They have become one of campus’ greatest enemies, and most of us try to avoid them like the plague. I have finally learned that you can pay a (hefty) fee to register your car and that this is definitely in my best interest financially, but still, should we be charging poor college students to park? Anyone who has taken Econ 110 gets the whole supply and demand thing, and there is no doubt, the demand for parking on campus is high. But does it seem right to make students pay to park at their own school?
We get it, there has to be some kind of enforcement or there would be anarchy on the blacktop, but charging students to park when all they are trying to do is “enter to learn” so they can “go forth to serve” seems petty and cheap. Wouldn’t it be better to increase the supply of parking spaces rather than lessen the demand by charging large fees? Some of us have already contributed large sums of money via fees and fines, so let’s hire fewer parking police, buy fewer enforcement cars, and build some kind of parking structure so fewer college students have to suffer paying a fine.
— Thomas Hafen
Provo, Utah