Published 2013-03-13T06:00:00Z”/>
Allison Weeks
Some universities plan spring break around Easter, but Chico State is different.
The university schedules spring break for the same week as St. Patrick’s Day.
Chico State does this so the break is in the middle of spring semester, with seven weeks leading up to the break and seven weeks after, Chico State President Paul Zingg said.
It is also scheduled this way because the holiday is associated with frequent partying, which would require intensive police intervention, he said.
“The university decided to schedule its break every year to coincide with St. Patrick’s Day in an attempt to reduce the student population in town and lessen the burden on our public safety personnel,” Zingg said.
The holiday weekend is still busy, however, because it is celebrated by both students and residents, said Sgt. Corinne Beck of the University Police Department.
Students living in the resident halls are required to leave Chico over break, but some students living off campus decide to stay in Chico, she said.
Solina Sanchez, a senior political science and criminal justice major, thinks having spring break in the same week as St. Patrick’s Day helps decrease the number of people who go out, she said.
“I think for the school it is a better idea just for safety precautions, because I do feel like of lot of students use it as an opportunity to go back home,” Sanchez said. “But then there are always going to be those kids who always want to go out and party.”
Sophomore communication studies major Annelise Muraoka has never been in Chico for St. Patrick’s Day, but she thinks it is a good idea to have spring break coincide with the holiday, she said.
“It makes sense that they would do that, because in the past there have been other examples where it has gotten out of hand, so having it on a big holiday like that is kind of logical,” Muraoka said.
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<strong>Allison Weeks can be reached at </strong><a href=”mailto:[email protected]”><em>[email protected]</em></a>
