An editorial by Grayson Lambert
For those students not already at home, the countdown is on for Thanksgiving break. Unlike the past two years, the University’s academic calender this year only gives students Wednesday through Friday for Thanksgiving instead of the entire week. Having the full week off is better, and next year the University should give students this long break.
There are numerous reasons for having the entire week off for Thanksgiving break. First, the week can give students a needed break. Having survived a stretch of midterms and the rigors of the middle of the semester, students could use such a break to prepare for final exams and papers. The short break that we have this year does not really give a rest from the busy schedules that we all have at school.
Letting Thanksgiving break last the entire week is also very practical. Many professors cancel classes anyway, which means that many students leave early, creating for these students a de facto week-long holiday. Also, travel for out-of-state students s much easier when students have the entire week off. Such a schedule also gives an exra weekend as part of the break, so students who travel long distances have more time at home after spending more time traveling.
While the University does not have a long tradition of having a week-long break for Thanksgiving, the change was popular with students. Certainly, the vast majority of students would rather have a week off at Thanskgiving than the extra day at Fall break. Let us hope that next year, the University returns to having a full week off for Thanksgiving. If there is an opportunity for students to give input on next year’s schedule, let University officials know that we want the whole week off for Thanksgiving.
2 Comments
November 20, 2007 at 11:17 am
How do we contact people in charge of making the break longer to let them know that we’d prefer a longer Thanksgiving to a longer fall break? Thanks!
November 20, 2007 at 6:02 pm
AGREED.