Written By: Daniel Holscher, Staff Writer
CONTROVERSIAL: As Daylight savings time comes in for another time change- the question arises if this will be the last time.
“Why Save?”
Before getting into the logistics of Daylight Savings Time, it’s important to know when, how, and where this sort of annual time change has stemmed from and why it is so important to us today. Technically speaking the application of Daylight Savings in the US began in 1918, amid the crisis of the First World War. This act was aimed at decreasing fuel use and extending daylight hours for troops who are to be deployed, being removed from US observance after WWI’s end, only to be enlisted again during WWII. In 1963, when Lyndon B. Johnson became President, he promised to permanently reestablish these time changes for the productivity of the country. In 1966 the Uniform Time Act was established and many of the States in the US observed this Federal binding as others did not;. this is division is where the conflict arises. Some states in the US do observe the November/March change of times to make way for longer days and darker mornings, while other states do not. There and people within those states who do not exactly agree with this method of productivity as it disrupts the internal clock of the human body and puts stress upon it.
“Poly’s Take”
The crowd here at Poly has gone through their fair share of “falling back” and “springing forward” and have varying opinions about the usefulness and reality of Daylight Savings time. “For me Daylight Savings time has always been the worst in March because my early morning practices get harder to wake up for” Micah Chandler (12) stated. Ares Grez (10) responded with that he “feels like [he] lost multiple hours of sleep in just one night” while the clocks spring forward. Others took a more optimistic view on the loss of an hour and turned into a fond like for its use. “I generally think that having that extra light towards the end of the day keeps me more alert and productive” Bella Salgado (10) emphasized. “Usually I just try to get to bed an hour earlier to eventually match what I lose,” she continued.
Some of the staff here at Poly also have their varying opinions about this time change and how it affects their productivity in grading and teaching. Mrs. Umana tends to take a careful approach to it and “knows all of [her] students are usually tired and still adjusting” to the time change and always tries to “get everyone to move around a bit” during the first week of the time change. “I absolutely despise it….oh yeah it should absolutely be cancelled” Señora Soliman strongly expressed. “There isn’t enough time for me to worry about catching up on sleep and keeping up with everything else in life,” she elaborated. Mr. Mckinnie adopted the most optimistic attitude towards the time switch as he’s “been dealing with it for over 50 years now, so [he] can’t let it affect [him]. I like that extra hour during the summer time-so it’s no big deal to me,” he concluded.
“Forever-Bound?”
The tradition of Daylight Savings time has long been determined as mostly useless among the American people and is awaiting revision in the US judicial branch. President Donald Trump first hinted at a complete wipe out of Daylight Savings during one of his presidential campaigns a few months ago; Since coming into office he has only made one statement about this decision exerting that “as for that (Daylight Savings) we are not too sure how we are going to move forward with that; it is a 50/50 thing”. Hawaii and Arizona are the two US states that do not practice Daylight Savings. Changing the clocks twice a year is tiring and inconvenient for the people of the US and is a continual topic in the matters of push and shove, maybe one day this will all be a thing of the past-or perhaps losing and gaining an hour of our lives will be a permanent thing of the future-, but as for now, the clock continues to tick-symbolizing a journey from wartime to modern-day inheritance.