As I’m sure everyone is aware, we have Monday and Tuesday off for Fall Break ’04. Commence the party! Or, if you’d rather, commence four days of rest and relaxation. Four days to unwind after midterms and recharge your batteries. Right?
Hardly. It seems as if all the professors have held a meeting and mutually decided that Fall Break should be renamed Long Weekend of Great Opportunity. My professors have definitely embraced this opportunity to assign tests, projects and papers, due next Wednesday. Their reasoning is that they don’t want our class to get off schedule or to get behind in their other classes.
Perhaps a random two-day break will throw off everyone’s schedule a bit, but with some adjustments this could easily be taken care of rather than finagling our alleged holidays from us.
It always seems that before Spring Break professors are likely to say, “Have a great, safe week and 10 days from now we’ll pick up where we left off!” Spring Break is always taken into account by professors when planning assignments, so why should Fall Break be any different? Is it because professors think we aren’t burnt out and don’t need a few free days?
Last year we had the full week of Thanksgiving off, and this year we have two days in October and three days for Thanksgiving. At first, the thought of this split vacation was exciting. I didn’t like that last year we had a week-long break, followed by a week of studying, finals week and then a month-long winter vacation. Our breaks were too condensed.
I originally thought spreading our holidays out was a good idea because, previously, we’ve gone Labor Day to Thanksgiving with no breaks. Around midterms, everyone is ready for a chance to catch their breath and recuperate, so this seemed like the perfect idea.
But with the pile of assignments that has been so graciously bestowed upon me, my weekend will be spent hunched over art projects, stuck in front of the computer writing papers and buried in books studying for tests that will be waiting to welcome me back on Wednesday.
Professors aren’t regarding this as a real Fall “Break.” This is just a couple of days where, even though the classes aren’t meeting, we’re still expected to put in the full amount of time and work. This leads me to think that perhaps week-long breaks are more beneficial both to the students and faculty.
With an entire week off, professors wouldn’t have to alter their lesson plans to accommodate for some of their classes meeting and some not meeting, and students could actually enjoy their break. Isn’t that what it was meant for?
I think everyone would be better off if the week-long Fall Break over Thanksgiving was reinstated.
Speaking of things that should be reinstated, I know I’m not alone in saying that Dead Days are one of those things.
Until 2003, Dead Days were reserved for the Tuesday through Thursday of the week before exams. In 2003, they were changed to Reading Days, which took place on the Saturday and Sunday before finals week.
Are we supposed to feel privileged that we’re now given the weekend before exams to study? Call me crazy, but I assumed that’s what the weekend before exams was for anyway. It is unfair for professors to be able to give us tests, papers and projects due up until exam week begins.
Some professors seem to think that their class is their students’ only concern and responsibility, but this is never the case. Finals take much studying and preparation. Since most students on campus take around five classes a semester, this adds up to a hefty study load which professors have to take into account.
Dead Days would give students ample time and opportunity to concentrate on their studies and also remove some of the stress that finals week always brings. One weekend is simply insufficient for exam preparation.
While some might say the adjustments to the calendar and curriculum are constant well thought-out improvements, I disagree. When making such drastic changes, I would suggest the students be consulted for our opinions on the adjustments in question. The administration might find that their new-and-improved schedule isn’t really beneficial to us at all.
Erin Clyburn is a sophomore English major. She can be reached at [email protected].