EDITORIAL: Reconsider days off

Thanksgiving is universal

By:

Posted: 11/25/08

Recently, a Faculty Senate task force conducted a survey among the faculty to examine the possibility of making the Wednesday before Thanksgiving an additional vacation day. The options explored by the task force included holding classes on Labor Day, starting the semester a day early in August and pushing back exam period and adding another class day. However, the results of the survey showed that a majority of the faculty, 54.7 percent, were against holding classes on Labor Day.

This page agrees with the faculty. Though we support the idea of having the Wednesday before Thanksgiving off, because that would help ease the stress students and faculty face as a result of an intense and overcrowded holiday travel environment, the day should not be added at the expense of a widely celebrated American holiday such as Labor Day. Prof. Judith Herzfeld (CHEM), in an interview with the Justice, said that adding a day to the beginning of the semester wouldn't be practical either, as it would force orientation to be either shortened or postponed. Likewise, she said, adding a day to the end of the semester would delay winter vacation and disrupt travel plans.

Instead of exchanging the day before Thanksgiving for Labor Day, we suggest that if the University is set on adding another day of classes, it follow the model used by Ithaca College and have class on Shemini Atzeret. Ithaca holds classes on this Jewish holiday and the immediatelty sequential Simchat Torah, but makes classes optional and doesn't allow any papers or exams to be scheduled for that day. For those who choose to attend, the classes are largely review sessions. As it stands, observant students at Brandeis are only granted one of the two days off, so they are already accustomed to a situation in which professors acknowledge their religious practices while still holding classes. If classes are going to be held on both days, the observant students should at least be able to observe one holiday without fear of academic repercussion.

Furthermore, only a small portion of the student body actually observes these holidays. Most simply spend them sleeping in or doing homework. With only one day off, few students, if any, actually leave campus to go home, whereas having the extra day before Thanksgiving off would actually serve a larger portion of the campus.

Since observant students already cope with having to attend classes on one of the holidays, a system of optional classes would satisfy those who otherwise might feel like their religious needs were being ignored while allowing the University to maintain its required number of class days.

If the University must make a change to the schedule and add another day of classes, we urge it to do so with the majority of students in mind while still respecting the religious practices of others.