It sounds like a time span that comes naturally with the Halloween season – Dead Week. But to those who know Iowa State more than your average outsider, the name doesn’t paint a clear picture of what Dead Week is.

The outlined rules of Dead Week first touch on the status of all extracurricular activities.

According to the ISU Catalog, “the intent [of Dead Week] is to provide students with time for review and preparation for final examinations. Therefore, no student organization registered with the Student Organization Office may hold meetings or sponsor events without the expressed permission of [the] program coordinator of the Dean of Students Office.”

Other guidelines included in the university’s catalog state that only lab classes may hold final exams during Dead Week and no assignments or quizzes worth more than 10 percent of the final grade in a class may be administered. Furthermore, major course assignments should be due before Dead Week and semester-long projects may only be turned in during Dead Week at a student’s request.

Currently, Government of the Student Body Director of Student Affairs Ian Ringgenberg, senior in anthropology, is the tip of the spear when it comes to student complaints regarding the rules and regulations placed on professors and educators during the lull in academic action.

“Basically, it’s just my job to be there for students if there are any problems regarding the policies of Dead Week,” Ringgenberg said. “In the past, I don’t think there have been many problems, but we just want to make sure that the rules aren’t being broken universitywide.”

Ringgenberg works with the Provost’s Office, and he said even though most students do know about Dead Week, they don’t fully understand why the time is implemented.

“It’s essentially a time for students to get prepared for final exams,” Ringgenberg said. “Right now we don’t necessarily see there being any problems with Dead Week, but we just want to leave our ears open if there are any instances of policy violation.”

An e-mail from Associate Provost David Holger to GSB Vice President Ian Guffy, senior in computer science, stated that in the past there have been few instances of policy violation.

“Students can and do seek help from departments, colleges and me when instructors clearly violate the policies. Issues regarding final exam policy are more common than Dead Week, and few of either reach me as formal complaints,” Holger wrote in the e-mail.