BY: Evan Justice
Throughout the past few weeks, many colleges across the country have decided to cancel their spring breaks for the Spring 2021 semester. Recently, the University of Alabama and the University of South Alabama have decided to cancel their spring breaks as well.
In order to compensate for the loss of spring break, both universities decided they will begin their upcoming spring semester one week later. Although both campuses required students to test for the Coronavirus before returning to campus, no such requirement was included in either campus announcements for their plans for the upcoming spring semester.
The question remains: Will AUM follow in these footsteps and make the decision to cancel spring break? While no official statement has been made yet, one could find the answers to this question from Auburn University. As AUM is the sister campus to Auburn University, many of the decisions made at Auburn are also made at AUM.
Although no official word on whether Auburn University intends to cancel their spring break has been made, a message from Auburn University Provost Bill Hardgrave posted on October 9th on the Auburn University website seems to indicate that a decision on the status of spring break will be announced no later than November 24th.
According to the message, the current safety measures being used to stop the spread of the coronavirus will also be implemented in the upcoming spring semester. These protocols include completing daily health checks, reducing classroom capacities, wearing face coverings, and practicing social distancing.
Although the size of classes will be reduced, the message also states that most of the classes for the upcoming spring semester will be offered in-person. Any class that decides to remain online will notify students during registration.
Until Auburn University makes an official announcement on the status of their spring break, any ideas about the status of AUM’s spring break will mostly be speculation. If anyone is interested in what the overall spring semester at AUM could look like, you can read Auburn University’s official announcement at: https://ocm.auburn.edu/newsroom/news_articles/2020/10/080950-provost-message.php.