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This week, the Art and Design Department will take a pause from new material to give students an opportunity to work on existing projects. This pause is designed to help alleviate some stress caused by the absence of a spring break. 

Despite rumors, this does not qualify as a break; it is a spring pause.

“It just gives the students an opportunity in the arts to basically keep pace with the assignments they already have,” said Richard Schuessler, chair of the Art & Design Department. 

The idea for a pause originated last semester after UNK announced there would be no spring break. Members of the Art Student Advisory Board brought forth concerns of anxiety and stress for students in the department with no formal spring break. 

Most courses in the department are project-based and time consuming.

“Our thought process with that was that we were gonna hit an academic burnout because art students have a lot on their plates,” said Kayla Millikan, member of the Art Student Advisory Board. 

The administration approved a compromise of a week without new material added to students’ workloads. Students are allowed in the studios to work on projects, and professors will be available for questions. 

Discretion over course proceedings is left to the professors, but it was the department’s decision to try the pause this semester. 

“There’s still expectations to complete work. There’s still projects being done,” said Samuel Rapien, assistant visual communication and design professor. “But this would just kind of give them the ability to not necessarily have to attend a formal class and to be able to work on those projects a little bit more at their leisure.”

The department is not encouraging students to travel or to treat this pause as a break, but rather to use this time to work on existing projects and present quality work while alleviating stress and anxiety.