by Nick Xu
News Editor
We should get rid of daylight savings time (DST). In the 21st century, DST fails to benefit most people while also making things less convenient. Having to set the clock forward or backward every half year is a hassle; granted, digital clocks will auto-adjust the time for you, but it’s not like we’ve stopped using physical clocks completely.
On top of that, if your clock fails to change or you forget to change it, it’s easy to be late or early by an hour to events in your schedule, which has happened to me way too many times. People like to tout that DST gives you an extra hour of sleep, but in my opinion, the fact that you lose that hour later in the year nullifies any benefit. On top of that, the change also disrupts your sleep schedule pretty significantly.
I’d be more inclined to let DST stay if most people saw benefits from its implementation, but it seems to be completely obsolete now. Many perceived benefits are negligibly small, disproved by experts, or aren’t backed by concrete evidence. You could argue that this issue “isn’t that deep” (which to be frank I half-agree), but as it stands DST is only an inconvenience, so I think getting rid of it is logical.
by Sylvia Von Schlichten-Crook
Online Editor-In-Chief
There is too much hate against daylight savings time. There is something truly disappointing about leaving school and seeing that the sun has apparently clocked out before you have. Daylight savings time gives us different perspectives on time and how to spend it!
In the spring, moving the clock forward means longer evenings, giving us more time for spontaneous plans, walks with friends and sunsets at dinner. Sunshine makes an ordinary Tuesday feel a little less miserable, and I refuse to believe that that is something to give up! When fall arrives, moving the clocks back gives us an extra hour to rest. Although we lose that evening sunlight, at least we have an excuse to go to sleep when the sun does at 7:30 p.m. Teens need 8-10 hours of sleep, so having an earlier evening transition is a helpful natural cue for winding down.
Besides the mood boost, I think changing our clocks with the seasons has its benefits. Our days are already packed with school, extracurriculars and responsibilities, so having extra evening sunlight feels like getting a little piece of our lives back. Personally, I enjoy the benefits of each season and don’t mind adjusting my clock twice a year!
