A time to rest

Longer Thanksgiving break is warranted

As tests and papers pile up, students anxiously await Thanksgiving break every year. While a four-day break has been common practice, the University would be wise to give students a longer break for Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving serves as the first major break for students since the beginning of school in September - two days off from classes after three months hardly serves as adequate time for a respite. In fact, students are at even more of a disadvantage because the University does not allot time for a fall break, which is standard practice at many other leading academic institutions around the country. Couple this with the fact that students have only three study days before finals - two of which fall on the weekend - and the need for fall term scheduling reform is blatantly evident.

There are many avenues the University could use to ameliorate the current dearth of breaks given to students. One easy method would be to institute a fall break in mid-October. This would give students a breather during the first hectic months of the academic year. It would also be of aid to first year students who are unaccustomed to the rigors of college work.

Additionally, the University cheats its students by only offering three study days. Adding more study days during the week before exams would allow students to properly prepare themselves for finals.

At the very least, Thanksgiving break should be extended by a day or more. A cancellation of classes on either the preceding Wednesday or the Monday following the current break would allow students more time to enjoy break and make headway into term papers and finals preparations. Additionally, many out-of-state students need the extra time to schedule flights during the hectic holiday travel season. Instead of forcing these students to choose between skipping classes and traveling home, the University would do well to improve the situation by adding an extra day or two to Thanksgiving break.

There are many options at the University's disposal to improve the quality of student life by reforming the fall term schedule. But if the problem is simply ignored, it will only grow larger until the University is forced to deal with it in the form of a subpar performance from the student body. The University must recognize that students cannot be expected to function at their full potential - academically, socially or physically - without adequate rest and relaxation. Once this has been established a meaningful dialogue can be opened between members of the administration and the students to create mutually acceptable changes within the schedule of the fall term. Now that would be something for which to give thanks.