University Of California Pays Students To Skip Spring Break

Would you skip your college spring break for $75? If you’re a student at the University of California, Davis, your school’s officials are hoping the answer is “Yes.”

According to the Associated Press, UC Davis is offering $75 gift cards for students who agree to take “staycations” and avoid nonessential travel to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“The idea behind this was to provide a positive incentive for students to follow public health guidance,” said Sheri Atkinson, associate vice chancellor for student affairs at the school, where half the student body lives on or near campus.

With this program, UC Davis joins a growing list of schools taking measures to keep their students from traveling this spring. Texas A&M scaled its break back from a full week to a three-day weekend. Other schools, like the University of Alabama and the University of Mississippi, are forgoing spring break with the promise of more time off later in the semester.

To qualify for the gift card, UC Davis students must submit an application with a description of how they plan to spend their break, which runs from March 22 to March 26. Students will also complete a COVID-19 test and pledge to remain in town.

The university originally wanted to offer the program — which will be paid for through private funds rather than student fees or tuition — to just 750 students. However, interest on campus led UC Davis to raise the limit to 2,000 students, Atkinson said. That is in stark contrast with stories from last year, in which many students told reporters they were willing to risk the coronavirus rather than miss out on spring break.

This year, only one in eight Americans say they’ll travel for their spring breaks, according to a U.S. Travel Association survey. This reluctance to travel in the face of the continued pandemic — even as more vaccines become available — has hurt the hospitality industry, which represented 39 percent of all jobs lost due to the pandemic.