Spring break is a time for students to focus on themselves. Whether they are relaxing, going on a vacation, volunteering or applying for scholarships, many students enjoy being out of class.

Oakland University students are petitioning for a spring break change.

According to Steven Lazarevich, the student who created the petition, students who signed want to push OU’s spring break back by two weeks, so it matches those of universities such as Michigan State, Central Michigan University and Grand Valley State University.

On the petition’s website, students are allowed to explain why they feel the way they do. About 500 students have signed.

One OU student, Jillian Hering, wrote, “Our spring break is too early for any ‘warm weather vacations,’ and I want to spend it with my other friends at other schools!”

Oakland University Student Congress (OUSC) is helping to raise awareness for the movement to change Oakland’s spring break.

Although the petition does not require a specific amount of signatures, a large amount is needed to show administration that this is an important issue to a lot of students.

“Usually 500 signatures are enough,” said Anders Engnell, OUSC vice president and a mathmatics and creative writing double major.

Students still have a chance to voice their opinions.

“The petition will end Nov. 8 when we meet with Provost Lentini,” Engnell said.

Spring break would change for winter 2018 at the earliest if the petition is successful, he said.

Engnell has worked with OUSC since August 2014 and got involved to have an “enormous impact on OU.”

Human resource development major and President of the Student Program Board Cassie Hock trusts that an adjustment will affect students in a positive way.

“I think that this change will make students happy,” she said. “I don’t think it will have a large impact on the university, and it will make students happy, and I think that is important.”

Hock served as a legislator to OUSC for three years. Her initiative for two of those years was to change OU’s spring break. She did some research in collaboration with other legislators to find out when other universities have their winter recesses by looking into universities that are also in the Horizon League, as well as universities of similar size to OU in the state of Michigan.

To sign the spring break petition, visit https://www.change.org/p/students-changing-oakland-university-s-spring-break-dates-in-the-future.