To the editor:

I have a lot of opinions about Iowa State, the strongest of which is that I should not be here right now. I would like to praise and support the faculty in the re-addition of a fourth week to winter break.

To the faculty, that extra week means many things: time to critique the previous semester, time to spend with family and friends, time to attend lectures or conferences, time to prepare for the next semester, time to get away from Ames for a vacation and time to spend NOT dealing with students.

Don’t you think they deserve the extra time off just as much as the students do?

To the students it means something different. Most students NEED to get away from school for a while after the end of a semester.

With the projects, papers and tests four feet thick in December comes enough stress to crush even the most strong willed.

Many students want to go home, on a road trip or study abroad during break — anything to get out of Ames, right? Others stay here because they have nowhere else to go, can’t afford to travel or even just like it here.

No matter what students do for break, though, one thing is certain: IT IS NECESSARY! If the faculty wanted to SHORTEN break by a week, just imagine how fast the protests would start rolling in! Without the time to relax, I know many students would reach a serious breaking point sometime before spring break.

So it means that the summer break is a week shorter. Big deal. We get out earlier than most schools already and probably still would.

One less week in the summer would hardly be missed, whereas four weeks instead of three is very notable. Some students were quoted in the Daily as saying that they would get bored or out of the “school frame of mind.”

Wouldn’t you rather be bored at home than in a lecture hall stressing about how much the book store is going to over charge you for that little paperback book the teacher is holding up?

And as for the frame of mind, doesn’t summer do that too?

Look at it this way: The semester breaks would be closer in length with the change, so while you might relax a little more in the winter, you can feel comfortable that you’ll be back in classes a week earlier in the fall and therefore be just that much more in the proper frame of mind!

I say that we should add that extra week back. If you agree with me, do something about it. Write your GSB and/or IRHA reps., write the Board, write the Daily. If you disagree, shut up!

OK, I can’t say that, but think about those poor faculty members who need an extra week away from you. Do something nice and make the change for them.

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John Woods

Junior

Computer engineering