The Government of the Student Body is postponing its vote on a resolution to establish Dead Week as a university-endorsed policy until its March 6 meeting.

“We want to make sure we’re doing this right,” said GSB President Andy Tofilon. “We don’t want to rush it.”

He said GSB plans to seek additional input about the proposed university Dead Week policy from students, faculty and administration before they vote on a final draft of the resolution.

“We believe the faculty and students can come to an agreement with this issue and something that serves the interests of both sides,” Tofilon said.

Faculty members have recently raised concerns about the status of Dead Week as a result of the publicity the GSB proposal has received.

Frank Montabon, assistant professor of logistics operations and management information systems, said he believes a university-endorsed Dead Week policy is unnecessary.

“Dead Week for me is pretty much a normal week,” Montabon said. “I have tried to avoid having a final that week or a really big assignment due, but that is more of a personal philosophy than a university-imposed one.”

He said Dead Week myths are prevalent throughout campus.

“I think a lot of the students believe this is a university policy right now,” Montabon said.

Currently, the only Dead Week policy set in stone at Iowa State is GSB’s formal rule that student organizations under its jurisdiction are not allowed to schedule events or meetings during Dead Week.

Deborah Kilgore, assistant professor of educational leadership and policy studies, said she believes Dead Week policy should be left to the discretion of each individual instructor.

“I don’t think there really needs to be a university policy in place,” Kilgore said. “Everybody I know is really trying to work with the students to ensure they receive the best educational experience they can.”

Instead, instructors would plan for the last day to be used as a time to review and summarize previous course material.

“This is something we believe the students want and the students deserve,” said Tony Luken, LAS. “All students would benefit from extra time to study.”

He said there may be exceptions to the policy for colleges with special circumstances – such as Design, Veterinary Medicine and Graduate College – who regularly have projects due during Dead Week.

“While I do see the necessity to make exemptions from the policy for certain circumstances, I don’t want to see this turn into a Dead Week rule with 500 exceptions,” Luken said.

Currently, there is no university policy enforcing Dead Week standards, although the University Bulletin has a statement indicating faculty members are discouraged from scheduling major assignments or exams during Dead Week.

Tofilon said he hopes the proposal will gain the approval of the Faculty Senate as well as the GSB Senate.

“We would like the Faculty Senate to have a resolution endorsing this,” Tofilon said. “We are constantly evolving this policy every day. We are changing it with input from the faculty and the Faculty Senate.”

Tofilon said he hopes the resolution will eventually gain the approval Provost Rollin Richmond and President Gregory Geoffroy as well.

The Government of the Student Body will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Campanile Room of the Memorial Union. The following legislation will be discussed:

New Business

A senate bill to allocate $891.90 from the Senate Discretionary Account to the ISU Unicycle Club for the purchase of unicycles with larger wheels. By Tinder and Kothenbeutel.

A senate bill to allocate $188 from the Senate Discretionary Account to the ISU Hooverball Club for the purchase of 4- and 6-pound hooverballs. By Tinder and Kothebeutel.