
Junior journalism major
I was on Facebook the other day, and a friend from home asked me when my fall break is. I typed, “I don’t have a fall break,” as I am forced to answer annually.
The University System of Maryland has a set of bylaws that determine the dates for each institution’s academic calendar, officially adopted two to three years in advance. The most up-to-date version of the document is from 2001.
Here is the writ for the fall semester: “A fall semester which begins before Labor Day, except in those calendar years when a start after Labor Day can also accommodate the requirements for class meeting time, interrupted by a recess for Thanksgiving. The final examination period will conclude on or before December 23.”
So let me get this straight. A university — which is a) 25 percent Jewish and doesn’t officially cancel classes for Jewish holidays and b) constantly advertises student mental health initiatives all over campus — doesn’t give its students a break until about 13 weeks into the semester?
Also, why doesn’t school start after Labor Day? There’s this awkward break right at the start of classes, which takes the focus away from the start of the semester.
The spring semester offers a much better scenario: a weeklong break about halfway through. This is a great period of time that offers students the opportunity to travel, spend time at home and just stop working for a while.
The fall semester is nonstop. Schools such as Cornell University, Haverford University and Bucknell University offer a few days off in early October to give their students a breather right around midterms.
Syracuse University and Pennsylvania State University give students a whole week off for Thanksgiving, giving them ample time to focus on family and finish homework.
Now, our school has something that students at other colleges clamor for: a winter term. Students can catch up on classes they haven’t taken yet, improve grades by retaking classes or just try to graduate a little sooner. This five-week term is why this university’s winter break is a week longer than most schools – besides the University of Delaware, which usually doesn’t begin its spring semester until early February.
As September draws to a close and October begins, I am in the same place I’ve been for the last few years: wishing, hoping, praying that for some bizarre and asinine reason, the university will announce some kind of hiatus from classes to alleviate student stress. After all, we’re paying tuition, listening to lectures, writing papers, taking tests — for what? Only weekends off, which aren’t really off because class resumes Monday.
I ask this university to reexamine its academic calendar policies. These have not been amended in more than 10 years — clearly a sign they need a change.
If the university can afford almost $100,000 in new televisions for dining halls, I think it could spend some time polishing its academic calendar to stay current with other universities and show its students – and hardworking faculty, for that matter – some appreciation.
David Oliver is a junior journalism major. He can be reached at oliver@umdbk.com.