COLUMBIA – The University of South Carolina has decided to cancel an annual college rite, spring break, to avoid a potential COVID-19 outbreak of thousands of students returning to campus after traveling.
The week off, usually scheduled for March, will spread throughout the spring semester, the state’s largest college announced on Thursday in an email to parents and students on its main Columbia campus. The USC is canceling “well-being days” with many scheduled midweek days, which will limit travel opportunities.
“I certainly understand your disappointment at this announcement,” USC Dean Bill Tate said in an email. “However, the medical community and I firmly believe that it is the right thing to do in view of the unprecedented global pandemic.”
College of Charleston, South Carolina’s third largest school, also canceled spring break.
Clemson University, second only to USC in enrollment in the state, still plans spring break, despite having the largest number of COVID-19 cases in the country on a university campus. Coastal Carolina University, the state’s fourth-largest college, has spring break in April still listed on its academic calendar.
USC extended the spring break last year, as the state’s largest colleges quickly changed all online classes when the pandemic began. The school estimated that 30 percent of the campus could have been infected if students could return after traveling home and vacation.
Missing spring break is just another adjustment that students need to make in the midst of the pandemic.
USC adopted a hybrid schedule in the fall and allowed students to return to campus. But before the semester began, the university decided to end face-to-face classes on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving Day to prevent the possibility of an outbreak of returning students.
Fall classes will resume virtually after Thanksgiving and final exams will be taken online.
Clemson University announced a similar plan on Thursday. College of Charleston and Coastal Carolina will also be remote after Thanksgiving.
USC has not yet decided whether to hold the graduation, scheduled for May 7 to 8, in person or virtually, said school spokesman Jeff Stensland.
The USC’s decision to cancel spring break was not a complete surprise, as the school did not include the extended vacation in the spring academic calendar. Spring break was listed with “To Be Determined”.
Spring break days will now take place on Monday, February 15th; Thursday, February 25; Friday, March 12; Tuesday, March 30; and Wednesday, April 21.
USC said at least eight other colleges at the Southeast Conference canceled the spring break that public health officials fear could bring infected students back to campuses.
USC experienced an almost national spike in COVID-19 cases shortly after students returned to campus in August.
Infections have subsided in recent weeks, despite growing community concerns about large crowds of students gathering in bars and large parties in apartment complexes.
Columbia police and firefighters responded to a meeting of more than 2,000 in a housing complex near Williams Brice Stadium on Saturday during the Gamecocks’ football game against Auburn University.
