Victoria Wakeford was a student in Jason Akst's Journalism 401 class in Spring 2025. You can find more student Perspectives with the tag J401.
Growing up, I fell down rabbit holes, hung out with talking mice, and went to a school for wizardry.
That didn’t happen, but as someone in love with books, it felt like it.
Books are a source of comfort in my life, helping me with the stress of being a college student.
However, reading has become less common among my peers.
Theara Coleman, a reporter for The Week, says college students struggle to read recreationally, and “now seem increasingly incapable of reading whole books.” Coleman adds it’s “a problem professors say is becoming the norm, even at some of the nation's most elite colleges.”
This shouldn’t be “the norm.”
College students should read more; it can help reduce stress during the school year.
In a study by Shelby Levine and Anne Holding, they tested the effect that reading has on college students.
During their study, they asked college students to read during the school year and surveyed them on their well-being.
What they found was that recreational reading buffered many psychological symptoms, decreasing anxiety and depressive symptoms.
Knowing this, it is easy to see why college students need to read more: It can help alleviate anxiety and help them become healthier.
And it doesn’t hurt to explore new worlds.
I am Victoria Wakeford and that’s my perspective.