Day on Monday, college students across the state celebrated the journey Christopher Columbus made to North America in 1492 by heading to class and going about their normal lives.
Although it’s a national federal holiday, University System of Maryland schools don’t observe the day by giving students and faculty the day off. A university system policy states that all 11 schools in the system must follow a common calendar — and a fall break just doesn’t work in that schedule, officials said.
“Because efforts are made not to start the semester too far in advance of Labor Day, or after it whenever feasible, and to end before the winter holidays, we generally can’t fit in a fall break,” university system spokesman Mike Lurie wrote in an email. “Even of very short duration such as a Columbus Day.”
Sorry, Columbus.
This university and schools within the university system must have a fall semester that starts before Labor Day and ends on or before Dec. 23 with a Thanksgiving break, according to laws from the state secretary’s office via the Code of Maryland Regulations. Fourteen instructional days in January are allotted for either a winter session or an extended winter break, and spring semester must end before Memorial Day with a week-long spring break in between.
Students earn a bachelor’s degree after completing at least 120 credit hours at an accredited institution, as defined by the Department of Education. While schools can design their own programs, they must provide students enough time to complete at least 120 credit hours — or more, depending on specific state laws — in three to five years.
But this state’s schools aren’t the only institutions that don’t celebrate Columbus Day — neither do Hawaii, Alaska and South Dakota, which don’t recognize the day and instead provide alternative days of remembrance. Nevada, Iowa and Dane County in Wisconsin as well as several cities in California and the Navajo Nation held classes Monday, too.
Many students, however, said Columbus Day can provide a much-needed break from their studies, especially since it falls around midterm season. Numerous colleges and universities — both public and private — have fall breaks or reading days scheduled on Columbus Day or in the weeks following, including the University of Virginia, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and New York University.
“I think what Columbus did is a travesty — he ran a sex slave business under the table, brought smallpox to the New World and was a gateway for the massacres that happened,” said senior psychology major Andrew Tontala. “That being said, not having a day off does kind of suck.”
“But that’s what the weekends are for,” junior kinesiology major Stefan Zavalin added.
Psychologists have long touted the idea that a longer school year with several smaller breaks, similar to European school systems, provides a more productive learning environment than the typical American system of a long summer break and shorter winter and spring breaks.
“I think it would make sense to have some of the Jewish holidays off,” Tontala said.
Students said while they don’t support the idea of honoring Columbus, a day off would be preferable, as long as it doesn’t interfere with the rest of the academic schedule.
“If we had a fall break, would that shorten our winter break?” junior business major Katie Dryhurst said. “I would rather have a longer winter break, but a day off would be nice.”
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