How much are Reading Day and Spartan Day missed? We asked what you thought

By Paul Vigna

THIS is Mental Health Week on the York College campus.

It included a keynote address by Dr. Aditi Nerurkar, who spoke on “Building Resilience in Mind, Body and Spirit”in Weinstock lecture hall Wednesday evening.

The Spartan staff was asked to circulate Wednesday and ask students one of two questions, both of which are related to mental health.

Here are the answers they found.

Question: There used to be Spartan Day, and there used to be a Reading Day.

This semester, neither was included in the schedule. Which would you like to see brought back, and why? What do you miss by not having one or the other?

“I would like to see Spartan Day brought back,” said Zach Brida, a senior majoring in Business Administration. “This is because it gives students a day off to relax, catch up on work, but also with it being called Spartan Day shows some school spirit. I miss being able to take time off during the semester to unwind and catch up on work.”

Katie Ferry, a senior Marketing major, agreed. “! would love to see Spartan Day brought back. When it gets close to the end of the semester it begins to start becoming overwhelming with all the work that needs to be done. I miss looking forward to a day where we are able to relax and hang out with our friends instead of worrying about getting work done.”

Megan Hinds, who is majoring in Human Services, didn’t want to make a choice. “I would like to see them brought back,” she said, “because as a senior I have what is called senioritis and trying to do tasks such as working a full-time job, internship, and school is hard and stressful and not having a single day off to catch up or get ahead on work really takes a toll on my mental health.

— Julian Leon

As finals approach there has been a lot of conversation over the lack of Spartan Day and Reading Day. Some feel that it is weird that we have some semesters with both and others with neither.

When asked her opinion, sophomore Taylor Haran said, “I would like to see a reading day brought back because it served as a break to be able to study for finals, finish up final assignments, work on presentations, and reorganize for the stressful week ahead. It was nice to have because I was not always able to do that stuff over the weekend because of work or other responsibilities, so having it during a normal school day was helpful. By not having a reading day, we miss that time that we had to study for various things throughout an entire day. We miss a day dedicated to studying and/or relaxing before finals. Without it, it feels like there is no break to gather myself before I take tests that determine much of my grade.”

Junior Alex Merritt added: “I would like to have Reading Day back because not only was it a nice rest day in between the heavy load of my classes, but it was also an extra day that I could dedicate just to studying for my finals. Going straight from classes into finals is a lot to handle and it feels like we don’t even get a deep breath before exams.”

— Alyson Hatfield

Khamelia Henderson was leaving her class when asked about her choice. “I guess Spartan Day because they are similar but the name is college appropriate. It’d be a good day to decompress before finals and have more time to study for their finals without being loaded with coursework and classes.”

Acell Spencer was at the end-of-semester writing department event when he was approached with the question. “They’re basically the same thing. They are both days off. But with the Spartan Day they had some events going on. There was always at least three things going on so I would want that one brought back,” he said.

— Evie Giffin

Sarah Goodman is a junior Nursing major and also a mental health advocate. As someone who is taking on one of the most time-consuming majors on campus, she felt strongly about the loss of these days.

“It’s giving very much that mental health doesn’t matter because why are you taking the days away from us? Those are days for us to relax, catch up on work, and other things,” she said. “You could get rid of the fake break y’all give us in the winter and replace it with a real spring break and a Spartan Day.

“That would make me happy, I feel like all the breaks we get aren’t actually breaks since it’s over a weekend – teachers still decide to give us work to do but if it was a whole week, they wouldn’t feel the need to.”

Justin Grieg is a junior Biology major and is involved on campus through multiple work studies like being a Resident Assistant and Grumbacher employee. He was also a part of the Eboard in the OMB Organization on campus.

“I miss Reading Day,” he said, “because it was a guaranteed day off of classes right before finals, allowing you to finish up any assignments you’ve been waiting to get to, or get some extra studying in that really helps with finals”

— Karisma Boyd

Gavin Jens is a junior Sport Management major and a member of the men’s lacrosse team. He had this to say about Reading Day and Spartan Day, “Reading Day should be brought back so you don’t have homework and have more time to study and get ready for your upcoming exams.”

Another member of the men’s lacrosse team, junior marketing major Mike Russo said, “Definitely Reading Day just because I enjoyed getting a day during the week where I didn’t have to worry about schoolwork besides studying. Having a specific day off between classes and final exams is a game changer for me.”

— AJ Apel

Question: This is Mental Health Week on campus. What thing or things do you try to do to de-stress?

A Human Resource Management major, Gabby Irizzary said that she had many different methods of relieving stress. A few of these included coloring, crocheting, creative writing and playing music. Irizzary also said one of the best ways she has found to de-stress was to attend Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF) meetings on campus. She also said, “IVCF Bible studies or simply pray/read the Bible on my own has been the anchor that has gotten me through so many happy and hard times.”