In an attempt to follow suit of other academic institutions across the nation, the entire WSU system has made a new, unwavering decision to cancel spring break. Due to the short notice and the decision deemed “Pullman-centric”, those in leadership positions at WSU Vancouver did not necessarily take the WSU system’s decision lightly.
WSU will replace its traditional spring break with an extended winter break, through Jan. 19, and implement three academic break days throughout the spring semester which will occur on Feb. 25, March 17 and April 13. WSU announced the calendar changes were due to the risks of students traveling and increasing the spread of the virus once returning to campus.
According to WSU Vancouver’s chancellor, Mel Netzhammer, there was a lot of miscommunication between the university and students. This resulted in Pullman students hearing the shocking news about spring break cancellation from their campus newspaper, The Daily Evergreen, rather than from the mouths of administration.
“[WSU Pullman] heard this change was coming, as opposed to hearing it from the president, provost or chancellor. I own that, I think we had some communication issues as that was happening, and I think we have tried to rectify that since then.” Netzhammer said.
Netzhammer explained WSU Vancouver decided to move forward with the altered break and follow WSU Pullman’s decision due to the importance of aligning class schedules across all campuses, including Pullman courses taken by some WSU Vancouver graduate students.
“Was this a ‘Pullman-centric’ decision? Absolutely. But, there are times where we can make different decisions than Pullman, and there are times where a decision has to be a system decision that we all have to agree to. Because our schedules are so connected to each other, our course delivery is so connected across the campuses. This was not one where we could make a different decision than the other campuses,” Netzhammer said.
However, according to WSU Vancouver’s student leadership, the administration’s choice to remove spring break had not properly involved the voices of students.
Armando Antonino, a junior majoring in integrated strategic communications and president of the Associated Students of WSU Vancouver, also sits as a vice chair representative on the WSU Student Government Council. Antonino has been very vocal about how the spring break changes will impact himself and the student body.
“Change fatigue is a thing too. We are constantly adapting to new rules and policies. … There are huge impacts that cause us to get stressed or worried about what’s next. Overall, I’ve seen a majority of our students and parents not satisfied with this decision at all. … I definitely view some of the same ideas and concerns regarding that,” Antonino said.
The Student Government Council opposed the system’s decision to change spring break, even after it was finalized. On Oct. 11, they addressed all campuses with a formal document to denounce WSU, stating “While we are grateful for the consideration in this decision to keep students safe from COVID-19 as much as possible, we would also like to address the effects this would have on students across the WSU system.” Some of these concerns included students’ mental health, impacts on graduate research and potentially negative impacts on student veteran benefits.
Even with the greater concerns surrounding spring break, Netzhammer agrees that the decision was not handled as well as it could have been. WSU’s administration is now working hard to do a better job when considering the voices of student leadership.
“I think across the system, it was handled poorly, it happened in a chaotic moment is what I would say. It was rushed because of this deadline that we had set when we wanted to announce the decision, which I think was very important and well-intentioned. … But, in the interest of expediency, we didn’t [speak] with students the way we should have. I don’t think we consulted with our staff the way we should have either, to be honest. … Since then, we have done a better job as we send something to the Faculty Senate, [we] send it to the Student Government Council [as well],” Netzhammer said.
When considering the reasoning behind WSU’s changes to 2021 spring break, and WSU Vancouver’s decision to follow, there was a mix of student voice discrepancies and well-intentioned choices from administration. But when all is said and done, the university has decided to keep their spring break decision solidified.
Olivia is a senior studying English at WSU Vancouver.