Calendar change gives students falling to pressure needed break

We cannot find a decent answer. Everything points to the logic of having a four-day weekend some time in mid-October. Work piles up and stress grows so unbearable during 13 straight weeks of classes that school work suffers. Midterm anxiety is replaced with approaching deadlines for semester projects. Labor Day comes too early in the year, and Thanksgiving is too little, too late. The pressures we endure for 13 weeks cannot be soothed in four hectic days of traveling and family gatherings.

We need a break, a time to catch our breath and catch up on work. A four-day weekend, with two "no-class days," would break the monotony of constant schoolwork and allow students to return to their classes energized for the second half of the semester.

But let us clarify our position here. WE DO NOT WANT TO SHUT THE UNIVERSITY DOWN. Far from it. We are not asking for the University offices to close, but simply for two "class-free" days. We understand the impact closing the University would have in regards to the Office of Residence Life, labor unions and other groups, and we would not expect such a change. This is a "catch-up" weekend, not necessarily a "go-home" weekend.

We fully recognize that many students will not leave Happy Valley for these no-class days. Some will use the time to catch up on homework or just to stay and party. Many will likely stay for a home football game.

This issue does not only concern undergraduates. Graduate students and professors would enjoy a long weekend. The entire campus would be revitalized after the weekend.

Two no-class days would balance the semester. The option that seems the most logical is to implement the break on a Monday and Tuesday. This would allow students to catch a home football game while still giving them time to spend outside of State College.

Now that we've seen some of the benefits of having October no-class days, let's examine how this would affect the University. We need to make up the two days at some point, and the most obvious solution would be to start the semester on a Monday instead of a Wednesday. However, it gets complicated when you consider all of the orientation programs that occur during those two days. Perhaps these programs could be done all in one day or other means of orientation could be explored. The benefits of having a fall break would far outweigh the problems of scheduling one.

Still, the idea of changing the University calendar makes some administrators cringe. A fall break would affect more facets of the University than we even knew existed. We understand their concerns, and we know that more research needs to be done on the issue.

That's where USG comes back into the picture. We've begun preliminary inquiries into how no-class days would affect the University and are researching how they have been implemented at other Big Ten schools and similar institutions.

The situation was given a positive push on Monday. It turns out that the Calendar Committee, headed by John Cahir, vice provost and dean for undergraduate education and all-around great guy, has not yet finalized next fall's calendar, and is willing to hear a proposal for a fall break.

This means that a fall break for 1998 is within reach, and is more than USG could have asked for. We plan to have our proposal ready to present to the committee sometime next week and are trying to gather student support.

Fall break is not an isolated Penn State issue. At a recent conference of all Big Ten student governments, USG found out that many other schools are looking to implement a fall break. Other campuses of Penn State have spoken of the need for one, and the Graduate Student Association has been looking into this issue for a year. This is a trend, but it is not trendy. Penn State has the opportunity to be a forerunner on this issue.

So what can you do? Enough student and faculty interest in the issue could make it a reality. Hopefully, you've seen the petition going around. Sign it! You could even tell University President Graham Spanier what you think directly. E-mail him at gspanier@psu.edu with your opinion. You have an opportunity to be part of a positive change in the University. Take it.