Daylight savings time has been around for years, with the simple spring forward an hour in the spring, and the falling back an hour for the autumn and winter months. Though this is a huge change, we seem to pay no mind to it.
Daylight savings time originated in a 1784 essay where Benjamin Franklin proposed the idea. Later in 1907, William Willet campaigned to set the clock ahead by 80 minutes in four moves of 20 minutes each during April and the reverse in September.
Although modern DST has only been used for about 100 years, ancient civilizations are known to have engaged in comparable practices thousands of years ago. For example, Roman water clocks used different scales for each month of the year to adjust daily schedules to solar time.
What happens during daylight savings time is quite simple; it begins typically on the second Sunday in March, when clocks are set forward one hour at 2:00 AM local time, effectively skipping from 2:00 to 3:00. Conversely, it ends on the first Sunday in November, when clocks are set back one hour, giving us an extra hour of sleep.
As we know, the practice of daylight saving time can be outdated, and the question is, why do we still do this? comes to mind quite often. “I think it’s amazing, the temperature drops and the sun sets earlier, which works out for me when I make up my fasting days for Ramadan”, claims freshman Sireen Sweilim, giving the perspective of appreciation towards daylight savings time.
According to NPR News, only 12% of adults in America favor the current system of daylight saving time, while about 47% oppose it, leaving the remaining 40% neutral. “I enjoy it because it’s darker earlier, cooler outside, and it helps me fall asleep because of how relaxing it is”, said freshman Claire Robinson, who gives a similar opinion to Sweilim.
After considering all aspects, personal accounts, and history of the Daylight Savings Time, personal stances on this topic vary. With the nights growing longer, Steinbrenner students are eager to claim their well-deserved extra hour of sleep.
