This coming winter break, Conn students will spend approximately 33 days away from their dorm rooms, roommates, friends, professors and schoolwork. 33 days, over an entire month to watch Netflix, brave the cold (or escape it) and spend quality time with the parental folks. Although the calendar is set for this year, in 2015 or 2016 the time at home could be cut short.
Recently SGA passed a resolution, spearheaded by student-at-large Will Miller ’15, that encourages the Administration to reduce winter break to a three week duration, effectively making the entire academic year one week shorter; the number of academic days would remain the same but spring exams would start the first week of May instead of the second.
Miller’s proposal was inspired by his own experiences. In the summer of 2013, Miller accepted a job at a New Haven law firm; the firm, suddenly and unexpectedly short-staffed, insisted that Miller start the day after his last exam. The Michigan native later learned that the University of Michigan’s academic year is purposefully completed in the last week of April so that students can get a head start at their summer internship or job. Therefore the intended purpose of this resolution is to allow “an elongated summer [that] will benefit student opportunities in the workforce.”
Whether one week could make or break an internship or job is debatable, but it certainly cannot hurt to have an extra week over competitors. NESCAC schools have a variety of schedules: many have January terms, Bates has a short term starting in late April, but Conn’s calendar closely resembles that of Hamilton and Bowdoin. We do not even have the longest winter break – this year that honor goes to Wesleyan with 38 days off. Tufts will close the earliest in 2014, on May 9, while Bates does not wrap up until May 23. So Conn is not the most disadvantaged among the NESCACs, but we could do better.
However, losing a week of winter break can have its consequences. Many students maintain jobs during breaks and some are able to complete month long internships. International students, especially those far flung from Conn, must make the choice every winter break whether to go home or stay on campus. Staying is potentially cheaper (at $110 a week) than a flight home; if a student is going to spend the money for an international round-trip flight, remaining at the destination for a longer duration is preferable. Personally, three weeks would mean my skiing adventure would be curtailed, but that seems to pale in comparison to future career goals and aspirations.
Changing the academic calendar is not very simple, however. A committee comprised of various staff and faculty including Victor Arcelus, Dean of Student Life; Ulysses Hammond, Vice President of Administration and others set the calender, and all must agree. This did not deter Miller, who wants to be able to “leave a mark on the school.” He strongly believes his idea could give all Conn students the upper hand. He is worried, however, that apathy amongst both SGA and the student body is his main obstacle: “I had to get people to care” to get the resolution to pass. Winter break can be more than just sitting around at home, but the reality for most students is just that. The College focuses so much on career preparation, especially with CELS, that it seems only logical to give students one more advantage, especially when it is as simple as changing the calendar.
