I cannot speak for the motivations of the faculty members, but I do know that research is not the only reason to go back to a four-week break.

I work in one of the advising offices, and everything that we do is designed to benefit the students. When classes are in session, most of our time is spent directly with the students. Breaks provide us with an opportunity to do some catching up, as well as to work on additional projects.

This year, the three-week break felt much too short. There wasn’t enough time to do some of the things we wanted to get done, especially for those of us who chose to take some time off to spend with family. Projects that may have benefited students this semester had to be postponed until the summer. I do not believe my office is the only one dealing with this.

I do not, however, think that adding an extra week to the end of the break is the best solution. I think the week should be added to the beginning of the break, and the semester should start a week earlier.

Up until this year, the school year did start a week earlier in August. When that was changed this year, some of the deadlines and dates we worked with changed, but many stayed the same. This caused chaos and problems that I cannot even begin to describe in a short letter here.

Also, graduation was on December 22, just three days before Christmas. Although not everybody celebrates that holiday, there are still plenty of students here who do, and many of them would probably appreciate that week to enjoy festivities with their family or to get their shopping done.

Faculty research is not the only reason to go back to a four-week break. Offices all over campus could use the extra time to prepare for the return of the students, which would then enable them to serve the students better during the spring semester.

Elizabeth Craw

Secretary

Electrical and computer engineering