OP-EDS

School should keep later start time

Covid has affected so many things in everyone's day-to-day lives, and although the majority of these impacts are bad, one of the good things that Kamryn Kirkham has come from Covid is the one hour later start time for school. While this has caused the class times to shorten by a few minutes, the results of giving students one more hour of sleep has been greatly beneficial.

While there was always talk of schools giving students one more hour to sleep in the morning, it took a worldwide pandemic to give schools the opportunity to allow this. One of the major impacts of starting school an hour later than past years is how much students' mental health has benefited. Giving students this extra hour in the morning lets them be able to naturally wake up, instead of being deep in sleep and then rudely awakened by an alarm when it is still dark outside.

Allowing students to wake up naturally helps their body and mind be more charged and ready for the day. Many students have felt this shift in them this past year and say how they do not dread going to school as much because they don’t have to force themselves to wake up early in the morning and never get fully rested. Even teachers have said how much they have noticed a change in students behavior at school, going from tired and distant to awake and engaged.

Another impact that has been very prevalent this year is how much students' academics has improved because of the hour later start time. The extra hour in the morning gives students who are staying up late to do homework or have very busy lives outside of school more time to sleep in after a late night of doing homework. By giving them this time, my teachers say the have noticed an improvement in students' energy levels during class. Students are able to focus more on what they are doing in class and do not have to worry as much about trying to make more time available for homework.

The later start time has been a challenge for teachers to be able to adjust to the shorter periods and still get all of the material they need to teach in, but so far it has not been a big issue. Teachers seem to be able to get in all their material in this class time without having to rush.

The shorter classes have also benefited students by making classes less boring and long to sit through. The few minutes off of the original class time allows students to keep moving throughout the day without getting disengaged as easily.

All students should get vaccinated

According to Our World in Data, just over forty percent of Americans have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. While this is great news and evidence of Sophie Ehrman progress, it is still a far reach from the country’s goal of at least 80% of the population in order to achieve herd immunity.

The future of reaching this goal is beginning to look somewhat bleak due to the decreasing vaccine demand in certain places across the country. According to US News, Louisiana has stopped asking the federal government for its full allotment of Covid-19 vaccine. About three-quarters of Kansas counties have turned down new shipments of the vaccine at least once over the past month. And in Mississippi, officials asked the federal government to ship vials in smaller packages so they don’t go to waste.

There is an obvious trend here and the younger generation could quite possibly be the country’s only hope for achieving anywhere near 80% immunity. The stark decrease in demand is occurring in far southern, deep red states. This is not surprising and there’s really only one logical conclusion. The vaccine has already reached the majority of people who want to get vaccinated. A large portion of the other 40% of the country is trying so hard to immunize simply doesn’t want it. There is no good chance of changing that fact anytime soon. Things like religious extremism, fear and pride can get in the way of helping the country as a whole.

This is where students come into the picture. They have the opportunity to help the country heal when it needs it most. Young people act as a beacon of hope in reaching that 80% goal.

According to a poll lead within the University of Michigan, a large majority of young people are willing and even eager to receive the vaccine. This small snippet from within the University of Michigan is most likely pretty consistent with universities across the country.

Moreover, an increasing number of universities across the U.S. are making the vaccine mandatory for all of their students. According to NPR, Duke University in North Carolina has announced that it will require students to have a Covid-19 vaccine when they return this fall. And the list of campuses with such policies is growing. Rutgers University in New Jersey was the first, and since then more than a dozen residential colleges have followed. The University of Notre Dame; two Ivy League universities, Brown and Cornell; and Northeastern University in Massachusetts are among those requiring the vaccine for the fall. Cleveland State University will do so for all students living on campus. The list goes on.

Students not only should get vaccinated, but must get vaccinated in a lot of cases in order to help the country move past this. Overall, the opportunity for young people to make a major impact and aid in achieving herd immunity is immense and should be taken advantage of.

The vaccine is currently available to anyone over the age of twelve. It’s safe. It’s effective. There’s no reason for anyone not to get it outside of their own ignorance.

Let’s help the country heal.