Tick tock, time to change the clock
March 17, 2022
The dreaded daylight savings just hit on Sunday, March 13th, when we turned our clocks ahead and lost an hour of precious sleep. Even though we lost an hour of sleep, it will continue to stay sunny outside for much longer, which means summer and warmth! But why do we do this dreadful thing two times out of the year?
In the United States, daylight savings time was used in 1918 when a bill was proposed for a seasonal time shift, but it was repealed. During World War II, President Roosevelt re-established the idea of daylight savings, this way they could save energy during the war and get the most of the daylight. Initially, they called it “war time.” In 1966, it was officially established that this yearly time would happen on the last Sunday in April and end the last Sunday in October. This shift lasted till about 2007 when they changed the shift. Instead, it would take place during the second Sunday in March and the first Sunday in November which we still do today. The daylight savings that is currently coming up is where we “spring” forward, whereas then one in November is where we “fall” back.
Do some people actually like daylight savings time? For me, I think the idea is quite annoying. I think we should stick to one timeframe (especially where it is lighter longer), this way we do not need to get up to change our clocks, lose or gain sleep, and have our normal habits be changed. Many parts of the U.S. don’t actually do daylight savings. These parts are Hawaii, most of Arizona, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and American Samoa. Everywhere else in the United States participates in daylights savings. Though many states like Florida and Illinois have tried to get rid of Daylight Savings altogether. In Illinois, there were about 7 bills introduced to get rid of this time change, but there has been no action on any of these bills since March 2021. In Florida, the legislature was deciding to vote on not continuing to do Daylight Savings as well, but it fell through. Though it would be nice not to have to do the change here in Illinois, it would be weird being in a different time than the neighboring states in the same time zone.
“I enjoy daylight savings; it gives me something to look forward to. I’m also excited that it is going to be brighter longer as well,” says senior Sophia Scheider. Senior Emily Sarullo also agrees with her as well “I like when it gets brighter longer, it means summer is coming soon, I just don’t like losing sleep.” So, it seems that the daylight savings where we spring forward is more favorable than the one where we fall back. Overall, daylight savings is something we still do twice despite how dreadful it can be, it still has its perks.