Mississippi State University students voted 965-693 Thursday in favor of a mid-October holiday rather than extending the existing Thanksgiving holiday period to include the full week of Thanksgiving.
Both the student referendum and the faculty senate vote against a fall break will be submitted to the MSU Office of the Provost for consideration in making the final decision.
SA President Parker Wiseman said he feels there is a strong possibility that the fall break may be included in the fall 2003 schedule.
“Let me just say that I feel very, very comfortable about the way this thing is moving,” Wiseman said. “It seems to be a more important student issue than it does a faculty issue. Furthermore, the Faculty Senate was not able to show they were unequivocally opposed to a fall break.”
Wiseman referred to the Jan. 17 Faculty Senate vote of 17-12 with one abstention against adding a fall break.
“Another thing to consider is that the calendar committee has unanimously passed a recommendation including the actual date of the fall break in 2003,” Wiseman added.
The final decision will fall to MSU Interim Provost George Verrall and MSU President J. Charles Lee. Sources report a decision may be forthcoming this month.
MSU Freshman Tara Brock, a secondary education major, voted in favor of the mid-October break.
“I think we need a break in October,” Brock said. “The one in November is too close to Christmas. By that point, we are close to getting off soon anyway.”
If the mid-October fall break option is passed, students will gain a four-day weekend in mid-October and the Wednesday of Thanksgiving week added to the existing four-day weekend of Thanksgiving.
Angela Adair, a sophomore English major, voted for the plan to extend the existing Thanksgiving break.
“I would like more time with my family during the holidays,” Adair said.
Either plan, if enacted, would cut three days, or 100 contact minutes, from the academic calendar.
“There was some concern over whether or not this would lead to extending the end of the fall semester period,” Wiseman said. “That is not the case. These are three days which will be carved from the semester. That is one reason some of the Faculty Senate voted against it.
“The faculty has weighed in. We would have liked to gain the approval of the (Faculty) Senate, but that’s not the end of the process. I think we’ll have a fall break in 2003,” Wiseman said.