As a college student, there is nothing better than looking forward to Thanksgiving break. At Quinnipiac, students get an entire week of late November to themselves. A week to go home, see family, enjoy the holiday, procrastinate on schoolwork and just live. However, the break’s timing is quite awkward in spite of how much it is needed.
The fall semester is a slog. Students are expected to tough it out from move-in at the end of August all the way to Thanksgiving in mid-November with only two days off, that being the day of Yom Kippur and Labor Day, both university-recognized holidays. That’s over 80 days of nonstop college life. No matter your major, you’d need a break after that.
However, while the date of Thanksgiving can’t be changed because college students aren’t exactly in the position to make those decisions, the coinciding break comes way too late.
This year, the first day of classes after break through the last day of finals is only 18 days. Students are expected to go home, come back to Hamden and then go right back home in a little over two weeks. I’ve begun to question: Rather than go on break, why don’t we end the semester a week early?
The spring semester is at least a bit more balanced. Spring break comes about 46 days into the semester and the return from break through the end of finals is 54 days.
A recess from coursework should be right in the middle of the semester, when everyone needs a moment to recharge and gear up for the second half. It should not come when professors have already assigned final projects and set dates for exams.
Having the whole week off for Thanksgiving is quite the gift; other schools like Southern Connecticut State University aren’t as lucky. Then again, it just feels awkward. After a week of relaxation, it forces students to scramble and refocus for the grind of the final weeks of the semester. It’s like a Trojan horse — it looks nice from the outside but internally, is a disaster — and there’s really not much to be done about it.
A break right in the middle of the semester could help. Yale gives its students a week off in October and another week off for Thanksgiving. That may sound nice, but its semester ends a week after Quinnipiac, so there’s a trade-off.
If there’s a way to have two extra-long weekends during the fall semester, one in October and one for Thanksgiving, that would be nice. But for now, who am I to complain about time to myself, however weird it may feel?
