By Marissa Yelenik
Daylight saving time took effect at 2 a.m. on Sunday — but with growing debates in Congress, this may be the last time Americans move their clocks forward.
The Sunshine Protection Act, a bill that would make daylight saving time federally permanent for states that currently participate, was reintroduced to Congress on March 2 in a renewed attempt by Sen. Marco Rubio to solidify the change after the bill’s failure last year.
In 2022, Rubio’s bill unanimously passed through the Senate but failed to gain any traction in the House of Representatives — preventing it from reaching the president’s desk.
“This ritual of changing time twice a year is stupid. Locking the clock has overwhelming bipartisan and popular support. This Congress, I hope that we can finally get this done,” Rubio said.
Daylight saving time has often been debated, with some preferring year-round standard time, some preferring daylight saving time and others just wanting things to stay the way they are.
There are claims of health benefits on all sides of the discussion, but students at the University of Maryland communally felt the disruption to their morning routine on Sunday.
“I woke up with a massive headache. Like, I feel it just took a toll on me,” said Marcela Perez, a sophomore neuroscience major.
“This is like the first time it ever took a negative toll on me. I like daylight savings time because, you know, there’s more light. I just feel like on Sunday, like the first week, it’s just a shift that affects me.”
Perez, who had to wake up early on Sunday, explained she wanted daylight saving time to be extended throughout the year.
“Since there’s more light during the day, I would just say [I feel] more productive,” Perez said.
Other students feel the time change does not affect them much on weekends, but they do feel the difference as the sun rises and sets.
“It’s nice to see the sun out more. It was always so annoying. I was in freshman connection first semester, so it was really annoying to see it get dark at like 5 p.m.,” said Olivia DiJulio, a freshman immersive media design major.
“I feel like turning back the clocks is unnecessary,” DiJulio said. “It’s nice to see that the government’s doing something. I guess they’re recognizing that we’re kind of getting — some people, or a lot of people — are getting annoyed by … changing the clocks. It is nice to see intervention; maybe there’ll be some change in the future.”
Many students agreed that regardless of what the government decides, they hate the act of changing the clocks.
“It did throw off my sleep a little bit … Once I’m on the schedule then it’s whatever. Whenever we do change the clocks, I’m like ‘ugh,’” DiJulio said.
Freshman physiology and neurobiology major Jamiesen Kavanagh added that while she didn’t feel personally affected by the choice, she thinks the needs of the entire country should be accounted for.
While sunrise in March occurs at approximately 7:20 a.m. during daylight saving time in Maryland, some states like Georgia, Texas and Kentucky do not see the sun until almost 8 a.m. Alaskans, who also observe daylight savings, may not see the sun until as late as 9:10 a.m.
“I just think that if it’s on a federal level, they should just look at the opinions nationally. Like, they should look at what everyone thinks in every state because obviously here is much different than the West Coast,” Kavanagh said.
The sun sets on The University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland, on Dec. 1, 2022. Colors of pink, orange and purple paint the sky at 5 p.m. sunset. Photo by Marissa Yelenik.