2020 was a devastating year that featured a terrible virus, a crashing economy, and several months of online school. While the world is doing much better in February of 2021 than it was just nine months ago, the effects of that wretched year are still evident today. This, coupled with the week-long freeze this past week, has had a significant influence on our Round-Up success this year.

Due to many people struggling economically from the virus and the lost time from the week of the freeze, I propose that St. Thomas shifts the Round-Up collection deadline from March 4 to March 11. This added time is crucial because it allows for all the letters that could not be sent this past week to have time to get to their destination and be sent back. It also grants more time for students to help their community or family with damages from the freeze, instead of having to worry about selling their quota.

Pushing the final collection back one week would not affect the date of Round-Up; it would merely give students more time to raise the required amount of money to ensure we reach our goal and get those holidays. For this to be most effective, the drawings for the prizes should also be pushed back one week to accommodate the extra tickets that are sold.

Round-Up’s purpose is to raise money for scholarships for students who want a great St. Thomas education but cannot always afford it. Pushing the final collection time back one week would give us valuable time to ensure that each student that needs financial assistance can get it.