tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/spring-break-4592/articlesSpring Break – The Conversation2022-03-09T17:08:29Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1783792022-03-09T17:08:29Z2022-03-09T17:08:29ZIs March Break really a break? How pandemic-weary parents can recharge and connect with children without a vacation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450521/original/file-20220307-84100-s1zggd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=70%2C186%2C5837%2C3737&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Reinforcing the message that children are worthy and loved does not depend on planning blockbuster events. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Pexels/Keira Burton)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 175px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/is-march-break-really-a-break-how-pandemic-weary-parents-can-recharge-and-connect-with-children-without-a-vacation" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>As students and families in <a href="https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/nine-unique-places-to-stay-during-march-break-within-three-hours-of-ottawa-1.5797798">some parts of Canada</a> approach <a href="https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/spring-break-2022-bc-metro-vancouver-events">their spring breaks</a>, busy parents and caregivers everywhere may be reminded of the <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/03/11/975663437/march-11-2020-the-day-everything-changed">COVID-19 pandemic’s two-year anniversary of March 13, 2020</a>. </p>
<p>On this day, the Canadian government issued <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-covid-19-1.5496367">warnings against all international travel</a>. That was soon followed by <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/71-607-x/71-607-x2021009-eng.htm">school closures across Canada</a> and globally.</p>
<p>While some families who can afford vacations or for parents to take time off work <a href="https://www.thestar.com/business/2022/02/10/in-desperate-need-of-a-vacation-travel-agencies-see-uptick-in-march-break-getaways-as-pandemic-fears-ease.html">may be pushing for a getaway</a>, this year many parents are likely looking for ways to rest and rejuvenate from the <a href="https://www.apa.org/monitor/2021/10/cover-parental-burnout">parental burnout</a> that two years of pandemic parenting might have brought.</p>
<p>Since the pandemic erupted, <a href="https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/global-hr/pages/coronavirus-canada-parents-accommodations.aspx">working parents</a> have been balancing their work and their children’s intermittent bouts of virtual learning, along with the many other parenting challenges. </p>
<p>This balancing act has been one that many mothers in particular have had to grapple with, all while also shouldering the lion’s share of <a href="https://jourms.org/motherhood-and-mothering-during-covid-19-gendered-intersectional-analysis-of-caregiving-during-the-global-pandemic-within-a-canadian-context/">domestic responsibilities</a>.</p>
<p>Busy and exhausted parents can recharge and connect with their children by prioritizing rest and sleep, as well as cultivating daily moments and experiences for sharing belonging and love.</p>
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<img alt="The front of a school is seen and children are walking out." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450526/original/file-20220307-83257-11ie25i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450526/original/file-20220307-83257-11ie25i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450526/original/file-20220307-83257-11ie25i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450526/original/file-20220307-83257-11ie25i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450526/original/file-20220307-83257-11ie25i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450526/original/file-20220307-83257-11ie25i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450526/original/file-20220307-83257-11ie25i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Time off from school for children doesn’t translate into a family break without planning and preparation from parents.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette</span></span>
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<h2>Pandemic slowdown and burnout</h2>
<p>At the beginning of the pandemic, those whose work wasn’t accelerated by pandemic needs <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-stay-at-home-slowdown-how-the-pandemic-upended-our-perception-of-time-139258">slowed down, some took moments to pause and reflect</a> and some even took up <a href="https://www.corporatelearningnetwork.com/employee-experience-learning-design/articles/learning-new-skills-during-the-pandemic">new skills</a>. </p>
<p>In contrast, demands on time and energy of essential workers, coupled with threats to their safety and health, led to high rates <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/checkup/are-you-suffering-from-pandemic-burnout-at-work-1.6315697/workers-are-feeling-burnt-out-experts-say-employers-need-to-listen-and-act-1.6316968">of burnout</a> and <a href="https://toronto.citynews.ca/2022/01/06/ontario-nurses-burnout-covid19-pandemic/">staff shortages</a>.</p>
<p>The start of online schooling and lockdowns and the <a href="https://journals.library.mun.ca/ojs/index.php/IJ/article/view/2244">blurring of home, school and work life balance</a> brought <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2020-34995-001">considerable stress for many families</a>. Indeed, these stressors are disproportionately higher for racialized communities who face ongoing and <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2021.642662">intersecting inequities</a> amid the pandemic and other urgent global crises.</p>
<p>Considering ways to slow down, restore and take seriously our breaks is an important part of recovering from <a href="https://theconversation.com/childrens-grief-in-coronavirus-quarantine-may-look-like-anger-heres-how-parents-can-respond-135348">some of the grief</a> and damage of these times.</p>
<h2>Benefits of breaks</h2>
<p>For adults, the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21211793/">benefits of taking brief mental breaks</a> include reduced mental fatigue, boosted brain function and longer on-task behaviour. </p>
<p>For children, <a href="https://www.brainfacts.org/thinking-sensing-and-behaving/learning-and-memory/2020/kids-need-brain-breaks-010920">the benefits</a> of taking a break at home or <a href="https://www.edutopia.org/article/research-tested-benefits-breaks">in the classroom</a> also contribute to increases in cognitive functioning and on-task behaviour.</p>
<p>The benefits of taking a break also fulfil some of our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/h0054346">basic needs that underlie human motivation</a>. </p>
<h2>Hierarchy of needs</h2>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.verywellmind.com/biography-of-abraham-maslow-1908-1970-2795524#:%7E:text=Abraham%20Maslow%20was%20an%20American,%2C%20and%20self%2Dactualizing%20needs.">American psychologist Abraham Maslow,</a> our “higher-level” needs such as the need for love, belonging and esteem, and mental stimulation cannot be met until our lower-level physiological needs — such as for sleep, food and shelter — are met. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnpbp.2020.110171">When people’s basic needs aren’t met</a> their ability to actively participate in learning is significantly reduced. Psychologist Jacob Ham, director of the Center for Child Trauma and Resilience in New York, explains that faced with basic needs deprivation and trauma, people’s brains go into “survival brain” mode instead of “learning brain” mode.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KoqaUANGvpA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Psychologist Jacob Ham explains how being deprived of basic needs affects people’s brains.</span></figcaption>
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<p>One fundamental basic need is sleep. A lack of sleep for children has been found to cause long-lasting adverse effects, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13303">poorer mental health and well-being and worse quality of life</a>. </p>
<p>This is especially important now as the pandemic has had a negative impact on many children’s sleep. A recent review of existing research on children and sleep in the pandemic that included studies from Canada and China found that “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2021.06.002">sleep duration recommendations were not met in nearly half of healthy children</a>.”</p>
<p>Researchers found sleep of school-aged children and adolescents was directly or indirectly affected by dramatic changes in children’s lives. However, they also cautioned about drawing firm inferences from studies based on predominantly online surveys of parents. </p>
<p>Parents can aim to protect sleep windows for their children and themselves — and renew commitments to <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-build-childrens-resilience-and-your-own-amid-coronavirus-unknowns-135789">bolstering their own mental health to be in an optimal place</a> to be present in relationships and support their children.</p>
<h2>Taking a break while tending to basic needs</h2>
<p>We’ve compiled more ways that busy parents can recharge themselves along with their children that can help fulfil some families’ physiological, safety, belonging and love needs.</p>
<p><strong>1. Spend time in nature</strong></p>
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<img alt="crocuses seen coming through snow." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450553/original/file-20220308-85122-auezvt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450553/original/file-20220308-85122-auezvt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450553/original/file-20220308-85122-auezvt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450553/original/file-20220308-85122-auezvt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450553/original/file-20220308-85122-auezvt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=691&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450553/original/file-20220308-85122-auezvt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=691&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450553/original/file-20220308-85122-auezvt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=691&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The first flowers of spring are often a surprise.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>Spending time outdoors that brings a sense of contact with nature has been associated with many physical and mental health benefits. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00722">Research shows</a> that spending 10 minutes three times a week or more outdoors can help lower stress. This break, try to explore local <a href="https://www.todaysparent.com/family/activities/the-best-parks-canada-attractions-for-families/">child-friendly Parks Canada attractions</a> or municipal parks or conservation areas in your area you may not have visited before.</p>
<p><strong>2. Family activity night</strong></p>
<p>Engaging in a family activity, such as a <a href="https://www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/bringing-back-family-game-night">family game night</a>, can help parents and children work together to generate ideas, solve problems and enjoy the many benefits of spending positive time together as a family. Or consider creating an <a href="https://gatheredagain.com/indoor-camping-ideas/">indoor camping night</a> (this does not have to involve real camping equipment) or indoor beach visit involving things like rolling out towels, reading age-appropriate books alone or together or playing summery music. </p>
<p>A family activity night can meet many of your children’s needs, including safety and security, love and belonging.</p>
<p><strong>3. Get active</strong></p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/exercise/art-20048389#:%7E:text=Exercise%20boosts%20energy&text=Exercise%20delivers%20oxygen%20and%20nutrients,energy%20to%20tackle%20daily%20chores.">health benefits of regular physical activity</a> for adults and children are well-documented. March Break is a fantastic opportunity to seize the benefits of the mood and energy boosts that come with physical exertion.</p>
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<img alt="People seen lying on a blanket, one person blowing bubbles." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450510/original/file-20220307-84100-1rmfsci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450510/original/file-20220307-84100-1rmfsci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450510/original/file-20220307-84100-1rmfsci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450510/original/file-20220307-84100-1rmfsci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450510/original/file-20220307-84100-1rmfsci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450510/original/file-20220307-84100-1rmfsci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450510/original/file-20220307-84100-1rmfsci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Connecting with family members can happen in small moments.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Pexels/Anastasia Shuraeva)</span></span>
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</figure>
<p><strong>4. Connect daily</strong></p>
<p>Connection is a critical component of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7781063/">secure and healthy attachment in children</a>. When we connect with our children, they feel a sense of belonging and that they matter. Connecting with our children also fulfils our belonging and love needs as parents. </p>
<p>This March Break, <a href="https://www.handinhandparenting.org/2017/09/10-ways-to-connect-with-your-child-everyday/">simple yet powerful ways to connect</a> with our children — from cultivating humour to taking the time to look your child in the eye or being present when you do chores together — may reinforce the message that they are worthy and loved. Ways to connect <a href="https://www.parentmap.com/article/how-to-connect-with-your-independent-school-aged-kid">with school-aged</a> <a href="https://raisinghealthyteens.org/rht_blog/teenage-connection-the-11-best-ways-to-connect-with-your-teen/">and teenage</a> children will vary, but connection remains the fundamental goal. </p>
<p><strong>5. Reduce screen time</strong></p>
<p>Screen time has <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/45-28-0001/2021001/article/00027-eng.htm">increased dramatically during the pandemic</a>, especially among younger Canadians. </p>
<p>While <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-5-tips-for-navigating-childrens-screen-time-during-social-distancing-134445">screen use to stay connected with friends or family has been important</a> in the pandemic and has been part of family survival strategies, some <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/article/PIIS2352-4642(19)30062-8/fulltext">of the negative consequences of screen time include time taken away from healthier habits</a>. </p>
<p>This March Break, making a conscious effort to ensure everyone gets a little more rest and allows their <a href="https://childmind.org/article/the-benefits-of-boredom/#:%7E:text=Additionally%2C%20boredom%20fosters%20creativity%2C%20self,%2C%E2%80%9D%20Dr.%20Lee%20advises.">minds to wander</a> and bodies to enjoy the outdoors or physical games together even if just for a short time. This can help give your brain the break it needs, and also create more space to be present with each other.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/178379/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Making daily time to connect with their children is an important way of nurturing family experiences and relationships and to find restoration.Kimberly Hillier, Lecturer, Faculty of Education, University of WindsorLindsey Jaber, Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Education, University of WindsorLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1772142022-02-23T13:36:44Z2022-02-23T13:36:44ZCOVID-19 cases on campus could surge after spring break unless students take certain precautions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447836/original/file-20220222-17-1cm3x89.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4187%2C2917&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What college students do during and after spring break can affect the number of COVID-19 cases on campus. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/people-enjoy-themselves-while-walking-along-the-daytona-news-photo/1231920082?adppopup=true">Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>In a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-06260-1">new study</a> published in Scientific Reports, researchers found that breaking up spring break into small breaks instead of the traditional nine-day vacation can help reduce COVID-19 cases on campus by 2% to 37% when students return. To learn more, The Conversation reached out to <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=w7mMcLoAAAAJ&hl=en">Naveen K. Vaidya</a>, a co-author of the study and an expert in mathematical modeling, to predict how infectious diseases spread and to get his take on whether a traditional spring break this year will be safe.</em> </p>
<h2>What happened in 2021 at colleges that offered a regular spring break?</h2>
<p>Many of them had surges after spring break, but the levels varied.</p>
<p>The size of the surge depended on several variables. One of the most important factors was how many students from campus traveled and, if so, whether they went to a destination with a high prevalence of COVID-19 cases.</p>
<p>But data from spring 2021 only offers limited insight because <a href="https://edscoop.com/universities-prepare-another-largely-virtual-semester-spring-2021/">most universities offered online or hybrid classes at the time</a>, so not all colleges had students returning from spring break to campus. Plus, many implemented post spring-break protocols, such as two-week quarantines and mandatory regular testing.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://calmatters.org/education/higher-education/college-beat-higher-education/2021/02/california-colleges-vaccines">first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine</a> had <a href="https://www.ajmc.com/view/a-timeline-of-covid-19-vaccine-developments-in-2021">begun to be administered before spring break</a> last year. Also, the delta variant, which <a href="https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/how-covid-19-delta-variant-is-impacting-younger-people/">significantly affected</a> <a href="https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/view/younger-people-in-us-getting-hit-hard-by-delta-variant">younger people</a>, was already <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/first-us-covid-delta-variant-cases-how-did-it-mutate-1617871">circulating in other places in the world</a> and was about to surface in the U.S. </p>
<p>Some schools canceled the traditional spring breaks, and some attempted to <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/expected-spring-breakrelated-covid-19-surge-reported-some-college-campuses-1579178">curb the expected bump</a> in COVID-19 cases when students returned to campus. For example, the University of California at Berkeley <a href="https://www.dailycal.org/2021/04/13/uc-berkeley-avoids-covid-19-surge-after-spring-break/">required students who lived on campus to quarantine for 10 days after spring break</a>. The University of California, Davis reduced student travel by offering a $75 gift card to students to have a <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/students-enjoy-their-staycations">“staycation” on campus</a> during spring break. About <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/students-enjoy-their-staycations">2,500 students</a> took the university up on its offer.</p>
<p>Post-spring break surges were reported on college campuses in states such as <a href="https://www.connectradio.fm/2021/05/09/florida-reports-more-than-10000-covid-19-variant-cases-surge-after-spring-break/">Florida</a>, <a href="https://www.indystar.com/story/news/health/2021/04/22/indianapolis-covid-cases-rise-after-ncaa-tourney-spring-break/7337360002/">Indiana</a>, <a href="https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2021/04/06/hospitals-across-metro-detroit-say-theyre-ready-for-possible-covid-surge-after-spring-break/">Michigan</a> and <a href="https://buffalonews.com/news/local/education/schools-see-post-spring-break-covid-19-surge/article_e32d6790-9d5d-11eb-89f3-4b7a893e4be5.html">New York</a>.</p>
<h2>Is spring break safe for this year?</h2>
<p>We don’t know. Spring break itself is not the problem, but it can become problematic based on other variables, such as how many students travel and whether they go places where there is a relatively high prevalence of COVID-19 cases.</p>
<p>Based on those variables and our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-06260-1">model simulations</a>, breaking up spring break into shorter breaks instead of the regular nine-day break could reduce COVID-19 cases between 2% and 37%. However, the actual percentage will likely be influenced by the presence of the more transmissible omicron variant and by the fact that many more people are vaccinated than at this time last year.</p>
<h2>What kinds of destinations should students avoid?</h2>
<p>If students travel, they should consider going to places where the prevalence of COVID-19 cases is relatively low and the portion of people who are vaccinated is relatively high. People can check with government websites or other sources, such as the <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html">Johns Hopkins University & Medicine’s Coronavirus Resource Center</a>, to see the status of vaccination rates in a particular place.</p>
<p>A vacation plan with more outdoor activities will be beneficial because the virus is <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/safe-activities-during-covid19/art-20489385">less likely to be transmitted outdoors</a>. Coming into contact with fewer people and wearing masks during travel can also help reduce exposure to COVID-19. </p>
<h2>Do you expect COVID-19 cases to spike at campuses when students return?</h2>
<p>Yes, that is what is predicted by our model and what many universities experienced last year. However, it should be noted that students might have already been vaccinated, probably even with a booster, as <a href="https://www.bestcolleges.com/news/2021/10/11/list-of-colleges-that-require-covid-19-vaccine/">mandated by many universities</a>, which can also lessen the spread of the coronavirus.</p>
<p>Also, two years of the pandemic, to some extent, might have taught people to observe safer practices when they are in a crowd, such as keeping their distance from people, wearing a mask properly and washing their hands frequently.</p>
<p>While some spikes of COVID-19 are expected following spring break, policy changes by colleges, such as incentives for students who avoid travel, sending frequent emails reminding students to wear a mask and reduce contacts, and a few days of quarantine with frequent testing upon return, may help curtail potential surges.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177214/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Naveen K. Vaidya does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>An expert weighs in on how colleges can lower their chances of being hit by surges of COVID-19 cases after spring break 2022.Naveen K. Vaidya, Associate Professor of Mathematics, San Diego State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1506082020-11-29T13:12:09Z2020-11-29T13:12:09ZYoung adults, unfairly blamed for COVID-19 spread, now face stress and uncertain futures<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/371149/original/file-20201124-23-5nvvd3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=68%2C0%2C4912%2C3806&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">First year Western University students Sarah Pignatelli and Mason Shearer wait for a COVID-19 test in London, Ont., on Sept. 19, 2020. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Geoff Robins</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic there was an enormous amount of concern and attention focused on elderly people — and for good reason: <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1007%2Fs10900-020-00920-x">people over the age of 65 years</a> are among the most vulnerable to serious health complications, including death, from the virus. </p>
<p>It did not take long, however, for significant media and public health attention to turn towards young adults, with most of these depictions <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/who-warns-young-people-are-emerging-as-main-spreaders-of-the-coronavirus/2020/08/18/1822ee92-e18f-11ea-b69b-64f7b0477ed4_story.html">framing young people as “spreaders of the virus”</a> and as largely responsible for the second wave of COVID-19. These <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/lockdown-fatigue-invincibility-causing-more-covid-19-infections-in-young-people-1.5655401">representations frame young adults</a> as being careless, irresponsible and dismissive of COVID-19 risks and public health guidance measures.</p>
<p>As social scientists working in two international settings — Canada and France — we are deeply concerned that these kinds of depictions have distorted the actual experiences, practices and attitudes of young adults towards COVID-19, and created flawed perceptions of the true impact of the pandemic on young adults.</p>
<h2>Misleading representations</h2>
<p>Early on in the pandemic, <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/6700878/spring-break-2020-coronavirus/">pictures of youth enjoying spring break on Florida beaches</a> featured prominently in the news. These kinds of representations tend to focus on the experiences of those who have deliberately violated public health measures to have a good time. Yet these representations can be highly misleading.</p>
<p>During the summer, we conducted <a href="https://www.bccsu.ca/heads-together/">a survey with more than 500 sexual and gender minority people in Canada</a>. The results contradict depictions of young adults as being irresponsible: over 90 per cent of respondents under 30 years old reported practising physical distancing and wearing a mask — findings that align with data from other settings, including <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.socscimed.2020.113370">Switzerland</a> and the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0240785">United States</a>. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/371151/original/file-20201124-15-i6p2vv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Young people wearing masks on a cobblestone street." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/371151/original/file-20201124-15-i6p2vv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/371151/original/file-20201124-15-i6p2vv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371151/original/file-20201124-15-i6p2vv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371151/original/file-20201124-15-i6p2vv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371151/original/file-20201124-15-i6p2vv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371151/original/file-20201124-15-i6p2vv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371151/original/file-20201124-15-i6p2vv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Young people in Strasbourg, eastern France wearing face masks in September 2020. More than 90 per cent of survey respondents under 30 years old reported practising physical distancing and wearing a mask.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)</span></span>
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<p>In the U.S., <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6941e2.htm">recent qualitative findings</a> have described how young adults experience a deep sense of responsibility to protect those at risk for severe COVID-19 complications in their family circles and in the broader community (for example, people at the grocery shop).</p>
<p>In France, <a href="https://www.santepubliquefrance.fr/etudes-et-enquetes/covid-19-une-enquete-pour-suivre-l-evolution-des-comportements-et-de-la-sante-mentale-pendant-l-epidemie#block-249162">recent survey data</a> show that young adults are highly compliant with hygiene measures (such as hand washing) and using masks. And, while some trends within these French data are less than optimal, including a decreasing likelihood of adhering to physical distancing guidelines, it is important to emphasize that these trends are occurring across all age groups — not just among youth.</p>
<h2>Social, health and economic impact</h2>
<p>We also know that the pandemic has — and will continue to have — distinct effects on both the short- and long-term social, health and economic well-being of young adults. The economic uncertainty created by COVID-19 poses very <a href="http://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/youth-and-covid-19-response-recovery-and-resilience-c40e61c6/">real questions around what job security and economic independence</a> will look like for today’s generation of youth. They may struggle to meet their everyday needs (such as food, education and rent) alongside job loss, and the inability to start or continue post-secondary education due to the economic impact of lockdowns and curfews.</p>
<p>The pandemic also creates a high degree of psychological stress that young adults experience in distinct ways. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30308-4">Emerging evidence</a> indicates that symptoms of psychological distress during the pandemic are highest among younger generations compared to older generations. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/for-university-students-covid-19-stress-creates-perfect-conditions-for-mental-health-crises-149127">For university students, COVID-19 stress creates perfect conditions for mental health crises</a>
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<p>Unfortunately, these kinds of psychological stressors are taking place when it’s increasingly difficult to access health care due to COVID-19, a trend that is certain to disproportionately impact young adults already experiencing marginalization and social exclusion, including those who are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-020-03014-w">sexual and gender minorities</a>, <a href="https://www.odi.org/publications/17304-experiences-vulnerable-urban-youth-under-covid-19-case-street-connected-youth-and-young-people">street-involved</a> and/or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09515070.2020.1766420">racialized</a>.</p>
<h2>Online youth survey</h2>
<p>To better understand how young adults experience public health measures related to COVID-19, we recently launched <a href="https://focus-covid19.med.ubc.ca/">an online survey</a> to hear from 5,000 participants from across Canada and France. We will also conduct field work by interviewing 60 young adults from four different cities (Vancouver and Montréal in Canada, Paris and Bordeaux in France) about their perceptions and experiences with COVID-19 and the “new normal.” </p>
<p>It is our hope that this research will offer a way to give voice to young adults and to build an evidence base that can help key health agencies and policy-makers — with whom we work closely — to design strategies that will improve the well-being of young adults throughout each phase of the pandemic.</p>
<p>Evidence-based approaches are needed to improve the social, health and economic trajectories for young adults living through the COVID-19 pandemic. Young adults represent a key population that is significantly affected by the public health measures associated with COVID-19. Instead of stigmatizing young adults as “spreaders of the virus,” let’s focus on evidence-based strategies to improve the lives of everyone in a post-pandemic world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/150608/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rod Knight receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research. Rod is affiliated with the Community Based Research Centre. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marie Jauffret-Roustide a reçu des financements du Canadian Institute of Health Research. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Naseeb Bolduc's work has been funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Pierre-julien Coulaud receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.</span></em></p>Media depictions of youth during the pandemic are distorting the actual experiences, practices and attitudes of young adults during COVID-19, as well as the pandemic’s impact on them.Rod Knight, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, University of British ColumbiaMarie Jauffret-Roustide, Research Fellow, InsermNaseeb Bolduc, Research Coordinator, BC Centre on Substance Use, University of British ColumbiaPierre-julien Coulaud, Post-doctoral research fellow, Department of Medicine, University of British ColumbiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1117092019-03-05T22:13:08Z2019-03-05T22:13:08ZWhy your tourist brain may try to drown you<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/312321/original/file-20200128-81403-18t4qza.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=125%2C206%2C4940%2C3781&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tourist are a high-risk group for drownings.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>During the mid-winter break, many vacationers head south to sandy beaches and turquoise waters. But in their efforts to unwind — and warm up — they often put themselves at risk of drowning by committing a simple cognitive error referred to as “tourist brain.” </p>
<p>Tourist brain occurs when visual cues in unfamiliar places coax vacationers into taking risks. Recent studies suggest that tourists think <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58304-4_24">beach access points and resorts are located adjacent to safe swimming areas</a>, particularly when <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-018-3424-7">visual cues such as manicured paths and promotional posters promote swimming at those locations</a>. </p>
<p>There is a tendency for tourists to believe that tour guides know whether a beach is dangerous and that their <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-015-1626-9">suggestions on where to swim is based on safety</a>. </p>
<p>In Costa Rica, for example, about 20 tourists drown each year. Most of those drownings involve tourists from the United States, Canada and Germany. The beaches of Costa Rica aren’t any more dangerous than others — the number of tourists who drown in other popular destinations is simply not known or reported. </p>
<h2>Why tourists drown</h2>
<p>Tourists are a high-risk group for drownings. They’re generally <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2017.06.017">unfamiliar with the beach and its safety measures</a>, and have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1753-6405.2012.00888.x">poor knowledge of beach hazards such as rip currents and breaking waves</a>. This lack of knowledge is further exacerbated by language barriers, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00049182.2014.953735">overconfidence in swimming ability</a> and the tendency to make unwise swimming decisions after <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1753-6405.2009.00367.x">too many beers and umbrella drinks</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/258934/original/file-20190214-1758-15b99a8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/258934/original/file-20190214-1758-15b99a8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/258934/original/file-20190214-1758-15b99a8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258934/original/file-20190214-1758-15b99a8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258934/original/file-20190214-1758-15b99a8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258934/original/file-20190214-1758-15b99a8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258934/original/file-20190214-1758-15b99a8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258934/original/file-20190214-1758-15b99a8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Visual cues such as this palm-lined walkway can draw you to the water. While one of the signs warns hotel guests to be careful swimming, the design makes it appear that swimming is encouraged. At the end of this pathway is a series of semi-permanent rip currents along a beach popular with tourists on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Chris Houser)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many visitors simply do not think about water safety because beaches also offer plenty of distraction and temptation — drinks, vendors and people watching. </p>
<p>Many beaches popular with tourists do not have lifeguards or systems in place to warn beach users about dangerous waves, fast-changing tidal conditions, dangerous marine life such as sharks and jellyfish, and rip currents. Rip currents are believed to be <a href="https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-19-389-2019">the primary reason for rescues and drownings on recreational beaches in the U.S.</a> and around the world.</p>
<p>Beachgoers should heed the warnings and directions of lifeguards. The number of rescues and drownings may be greater when <a href="https://www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net/19/2541/2019/">lifeguards are perceived as being overly cautious</a>. Remember, lifeguards are trained to spot hazards and issue warnings, even when conditions may look safe to the untrained eye. </p>
<h2>Rip spotting</h2>
<p>Rip currents (commonly referred to as rips or colloquially as rip tides) are found on ocean beaches and some large lakes around the world. Driven by the breaking of waves, these currents extend away from the shoreline and can flow at speeds easily capable of carrying swimmers far from the beach. </p>
<p>While it can be difficult to spot a rip, they can be identified by an area of relatively calm water between breaking waves, a patch of darker water or the offshore flow of water, sediment and debris.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PuAlDTC_gIQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p>A person caught in a rip is transported away from shore into deeper waters, but not pulled under the water. If they are a weak swimmer or try to fight the current, they may panic and fail to find a way out of the rip and back to shore. </p>
<h2>Peer pressure</h2>
<p>Even when people are aware of rip currents and other beach hazards, they may not make the right decisions. Despite the presence of warnings, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-018-3424-7">our actions are greatly influenced by the behaviour of others</a>, peer pressure and group think. The social cost of not entering the water with the group may appear to outweigh the risk posed by entering the water. </p>
<p>College students on spring break or <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1123187">taking part in study abroad programs are prone to taking risks when on the beach</a>. Their actions are guided by peer participation, sensation seeking and perceived benefits of being part of the group. Weak swimmers will put themselves in danger by following the group into breaking waves and deeper water. Young men are the most at risk for following the group and putting themselves in a dangerous situation. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/258942/original/file-20190214-1730-1pyhbr1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/258942/original/file-20190214-1730-1pyhbr1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/258942/original/file-20190214-1730-1pyhbr1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258942/original/file-20190214-1730-1pyhbr1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258942/original/file-20190214-1730-1pyhbr1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258942/original/file-20190214-1730-1pyhbr1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258942/original/file-20190214-1730-1pyhbr1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258942/original/file-20190214-1730-1pyhbr1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Respondents to a survey believed this beach was safe because people were on the beach and in the water. The rip current in the centre of the photograph was flowing at 1.5 meters per second.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Chris Houser)</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>In recent years, a large number of highly publicized drownings have involved students studying abroad. In 2011, for example, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/costa-rica-finds-body-of-us-student-missing-at-sea/2011/05/06/AFwKiSDG_story.html">three teenagers from Ohio were swept out to sea</a> at <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-015-1626-9">Playa Bejuco on the central Pacific coast of Costa Rica</a> and drowned. </p>
<h2>Confirmation bias among beachgoers</h2>
<p>Dangerous currents are not present everywhere or at all times on the beach — the risk is different every time and every place you enter the water.</p>
<p>If someone enters the water and does not encounter strong waves or currents, they’re more likely to engage in risky behaviour the next day and the next, and so on. The behaviour of beach users is affected by confirmation bias, a cognitive shortcut where a person selectively pays attention to evidence confirming their preexisting beliefs and ignores evidence to the contrary. </p>
<p>Simply put, people believe, “If I did not drown or need rescue in the past, I will not drown or need rescue today or in the future.” </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/262181/original/file-20190305-48423-po7k99.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/262181/original/file-20190305-48423-po7k99.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/262181/original/file-20190305-48423-po7k99.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/262181/original/file-20190305-48423-po7k99.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/262181/original/file-20190305-48423-po7k99.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/262181/original/file-20190305-48423-po7k99.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/262181/original/file-20190305-48423-po7k99.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How to escape a rip current.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Pixabay)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1753-6405.2012.00888.x">Tourists are three times less likely to make safe swimming choices than residents and regular beachgoers from the region</a>.</p>
<p>Vacationers can stay safe only if they are aware that beaches at tourist destinations may be dangerous. They should swim at beaches patrolled by lifeguards who will rescue and <a href="https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/11284">intervene when someone puts themselves at risk</a>. </p>
<p>Just because a beach is accessible, has numerous attractions and is near to a resort, does not make it safe.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/111709/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Houser has received funding from Texas Sea Grant, Florida Sea Grant, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada. </span></em></p>Just because a beach is accessible, has restaurants, lounge chairs and vendors, and is near a resort, does not mean it’s safe.Chris Houser, Professor of Earth and Environmental Science, and Dean of Science, University of WindsorLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1123552019-02-25T22:03:47Z2019-02-25T22:03:47ZSpring breakers import Cuban rum, cigars and racist curios<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/260477/original/file-20190222-195886-nvxxxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Next time you are in Cuba, skip the racist curios and bring back some rum, cigars or local paintings instead. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo by Augustin de Montesquiou /Unsplash</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>This spring break, thousands of Canadian college and university students will head south to Cuba. They are among the more than one <a href="https://www.thestar.com/life/travel/2015/06/17/cuba-facts-by-the-numbers.html">million Canadians who will flock to Cuba this winter</a> to relax on the white sandy beaches of the affordable Caribbean island. </p>
<p>While soaking up the sunshine, most of these tourists will also shop for the nation’s trademark rum, cigars and other souvenirs that will remind them of their Cuban experience for years to come. Undoubtedly, some of the Cuban curios they purchase will be gifted to friends and family members.</p>
<p>But if you are one of those millions bringing a souvenir home, think twice before filling your suitcase with mementos from the island.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/260845/original/file-20190225-26152-2h6hmq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/260845/original/file-20190225-26152-2h6hmq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=301&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/260845/original/file-20190225-26152-2h6hmq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=301&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/260845/original/file-20190225-26152-2h6hmq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=301&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/260845/original/file-20190225-26152-2h6hmq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/260845/original/file-20190225-26152-2h6hmq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/260845/original/file-20190225-26152-2h6hmq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Varadero, Cuba, Paradisus Varadero resort in 2018. A wide open view of a beach and tranquil ocean on sunny nice day.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As a professor of anthropology and history, I was surprised to find rows upon rows of racist memorabilia during a recent trip to Cuba. These souvenirs, including sculptures, figurines and wall hangings, draw from a <a href="https://www.ferris.edu/HTMLS/news/jimcrow/antiblack/index.htm">range of familiar images and ideas</a> used across the globe for centuries to normalize the subjugation of Africans and Black people in contexts ranging from colonial Africa to the <a href="https://www.ferris.edu/HTMLS/news/jimcrow/what.htm">Jim Crow era</a> in the United States. </p>
<p>The most common souvenir I saw available for purchase at the handicraft stalls and tourist markets in Varadero, one of Cuba’s most popular resort towns, is an ashtray. </p>
<p>It is not the mundane object that you might expect of such a utilitarian item. The typical ashtray marketed to tourists is shaped as a three-dimensional head of a Black man, often topped by a straw hat, with white bulging eyes and cartoonishly thick, wide, red lips stretched impossibly wide, open to receive the cinders and crumpled cigar and cigarette butts.</p>
<p>I asked the Cuban souvenir vendors about the ceramic caricatures. They generally replied that the ashtrays were “funny” or “just a joke.” They said tourists were interested in buying them.</p>
<p>Many of these purchases reproduce deep histories of racism and violence that debase and dehumanize <a href="https://www.theroot.com/one-on-one-with-afro-cubans-what-it-means-to-be-black-1790860590">Afro-Cubans</a> and more generally, Black people. </p>
<p>Does the popularity of racist souvenirs in Cuba’s tourism sector mean that Canadians are re-animating racist anachronisms in their consumption of tourist Cuba?</p>
<h2>Racist curios in context</h2>
<p>Such objects must be understood within a long history of acts and attitudes that have for hundreds of years objectified and belittled people of African descent. The image of the open mouth can be traced back to the <a href="http://www.slavevoyages.org/">Atlantic slave trade</a> of the 16th to 19th centuries when captured Africans were sold in <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5106967/Haunting-photographs-reveal-American-slave-auctions.html">public auctions</a> to the highest bidder. They were often forced to <a href="http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/slaveauction.htm">open their mouths</a> as wide as possible so potential buyers could check the condition of their teeth. </p>
<p>After slavery was <a href="https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/the-slavery-abolition-act-of-1833/">officially abolished</a> throughout the British Empire in 1833, the abuse and dehumanization of Black people continued, upheld through laws and social practices throughout North America. Black people have been regularly caricatured in a range of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/12/09/us/confronting-racist-objects.html">everyday items</a> from nutcrackers to bottle openers to coin banks to children’s toys. </p>
<p>At carnivals, circuses and fairs across the U.S. throughout the first half of the 20th century, white patrons played games such as “<a href="https://www.ferris.edu/HTMLS/news/jimcrow/question/2012/october.htm">African Dodger</a>” (also known as “Hit the Coon”) in which they <a href="https://www.ferris.edu/HTMLS/news/jimcrow/question/2007/february.htm">paid to throw baseballs</a> at Black men. Prizes were won for direct hits to the head, often resulting in serious injury and even death for the African-Americans hired as human targets. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/260848/original/file-20190225-26181-qejzsq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/260848/original/file-20190225-26181-qejzsq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=323&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/260848/original/file-20190225-26181-qejzsq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=323&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/260848/original/file-20190225-26181-qejzsq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=323&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/260848/original/file-20190225-26181-qejzsq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/260848/original/file-20190225-26181-qejzsq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/260848/original/file-20190225-26181-qejzsq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">If you are looking for a Cuban souvenir, there are better options than racist curios.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Such games, regarded as family-friendly entertainment, offered a public platform for white people of all ages to enact and celebrate violence against Black people by heckling, humiliating and physically hurting them.</p>
<p>The violent histories and racist practices that such objects like the ashtray embody hurt all of us because they reproduce, and thus perpetuate the objectification, dehumanization and debasing of Black people in the crudest of terms.</p>
<h2>The stakes of racism</h2>
<p>The violence of these souvenirs should be clear. </p>
<p>Consider that the association of white people wielding fire against Black bodies invokes a horrific history of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/26/lynchings-memorial-us-south-montgomery-alabama">lynching</a>.</p>
<p>And the use of fire as a weapon of terror and destruction is not just history: in the wake of demands for the removal of the Confederate flag from official venues in the American South a few years ago, U.S. federal authorities are investigating suspected arson at <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/feds-investigating-fires-at-6-black-churches-across-5-states/">six African-American churches</a>.</p>
<p>Racist caricatures enable dehumanizing behaviour, including the 2015 targeted massacre of nine Black church worshippers in <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-hate-that-remains-a-year-after-charleston">Charleston, South Carolina</a>. These images also help to enable the recurring acts of police brutality against Black people <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-march-23-2018-1.4589415/police-shootings-of-unarmed-black-men-are-a-canadian-problem-too-says-author-1.4589507">in Canada</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/police-are-still-killing-black-people-why-isnt-it-news-anymore/2018/03/12/df004124-22ef-11e8-badd-7c9f29a55815_story.html?utm_term=.dfab84a71173">the United States</a>. </p>
<p>Given this social reality, Canadians should boycott souvenirs that denigrate Black people when they visit Cuba. These items connect us to centuries of abuse; those <a href="http://www.understandingslavery.com/index.php-option=com_content&view=article&id=313&Itemid=225.html">legacies</a> still entangle us.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/112355/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Monica Eileen Patterson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Are you heading to Cuba this March break? Think carefully before you bring home your souvenirs. Many of them contain old racist imagery.Monica Eileen Patterson, Assistant Director, Institute for Comparative Studies in Literature, Art, and Culture (Curatorial Studies) Assistant Professor, Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies, Carleton UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.