A day or two before a scheduled break like Thanksgiving, we often see a common trend -- low class attendance. By Monday and Tuesday afternoon before Thanksgiving, campus becomes quieter and lectures become empty.

To combat the attendance issue, the administration has decided to extend the Thanksgiving break from three days to a week starting November 2007.

In theory, the overall idea seems great. Instead of having Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off in addition to the weekend, students and faculty can enjoy a full week of rest.

A week off from classes gives students more time to travel, hang out with family and friends, recuperate and prepare for the end of the semester grind.

In general, who would argue against the extended break?

However, in exchange for the week off, students will no longer have fall break.

One day off in October may not seem like a lot, but to a homesick freshman, it is. The current fall break also allows students the opportunity to go home, travel and catch up on their studies.

And of course, that Friday gives students a little breather before midterms, projects and meetings start to takeover their schedules.

It may be difficult for many, including freshmen and busy students, to wait for a break until the tail end of the semester.

Unlike spring break, which benefits students because it is in the middle of spring semester, by the time Thanksgiving break rolls around, the fall semester will come to a close soon after.

Penn State hopes to cut down the amount of people taking off before Thanksgiving break, but students will still find a way to beat the system and squeeze an extra day off from classes no matter what the schedule looks like.

Although the move is understandable, giving students two days off in October for fall break and two days off for Thanksgiving may be the best way to go.