Daylight Saving Time (DST) occurred this past Sunday, as the clocks were set back an hour to Standard Time. Congress passed a bill in March making DST permanent, meaning that when the clocks advance this upcoming spring, they will remain that way permanently.
Students at the University of Connecticut have mixed feelings about DST and how they feel about making it permanent.
Kate Koval, a third-semester psychology major, said she believes there are pros and cons to DST.
“I think it’s a good way to change your habits,” Koval said. “I have a bio clock and wake up at 8:30 a.m. Now, I wake up at 7:30 [a.m], which helps me start my day earlier and go for a run or go to the gym in the morning. On the other hand, I don’t like the fact that it’s dark outside at 5 p.m.”
Some students, like Jackson Bell, a first-semester music education major, dislike the time switch and are happy that switching the clocks is coming to an end. Bell said he feels sad when it gets dark so early.
“I don’t like changing the clocks,” Bell said. “I was really confused when I left my 4:30 [p.m.] class and thought it was literally 8 p.m.”
DST began to preserve natural sunlight in the summertime. Every second week in March, the clocks “spring forward,” and the first week in November, the clocks “fall back.” Inés Martínez Lebrón, a third-semester finance major, said she understands this previous reason, but she no longer sees its use.
“I feel that it had a purpose in the past, and that’s why they made it a thing, but right now I feel like it’s not as beneficial today and it is an inconvenience now,” Martínez Lebrón said.
JP Capodanno, a first-semester actuarial science major, said he thinks DST is nice in the fall but is a nuisance in the spring. However, he said he is happy that DST is remaining permanent.
“I do not really think that it is necessary anymore, so it makes sense why this last weekend was the last time we were doing it,” Capodanno said.
Fiona Cheng, a fifth-semester marketing major, said she is enthusiastic about DST remaining permanent.
“I am happy to have more sunlight in my day,” Cheng said.
Other students explained that they do not have strong opinions about DST and do not believe it strongly affects their lives.
“Quite frankly, I don’t care much about DST, said Sarah Koehler, a first-semester undecided student. “It’s just a mild inconvenience in my life.”
Lina Layakoubi, a fifth-semester biology major, explained that in the spring, it is harder since everyone loses an hour of sleep, but she said, overall, it doesn’t affect her that much.
“Every fall back, I might comment on how nice it is to sleep in, and every spring I might complain about how bad it is to wake up early, Layakobui said. “I think eventually I will just get used to not having Daylight Saving [Time].”
By making DST permanent, there will be no more pushing the clocks, or reverting to Standard Time in the fall.
“The push for permanent DST has uncharacteristically not elicited any strong feelings on my part,” said Lauren Ziolkowski, an English PhD student. “I, like so many people in New England, get hit with the seasonal blues as the sun sets earlier and earlier. If implementing permanent DST means I get a few extra hours of sunshine every day, why not go for it?”
Whether students like, dislike or are not strongly affected by DST, the bi-annual clock change is coming to an end.
