Ever get the feeling that the only thing going to be “dead” during Dead Week is you? Rest assured, you’re most likely not alone.

Current university policy states that instructors are not allowed to assign coursework that falls due during the week prior to final exams. Theoretically, this time is supposed to allow students to prepare for the last exams of the semester, exams which usually hold a lot of weight in final grades.

Theoretically.

Unfortunately, however, it seems as if few persons drafting the campus’ syllabi adhere to this ideal.

Instead, their students are continually run ragged tying the hectic end of a semester together. Rarely, if ever, can a great majority of ISU students spend their final week of class unwinding, and even intensively studying for the following week.

The idea to have a “Dead Week” is definitely a smart one, but it should also be a realistic one. At present the weeks’ “mythical status” falls far short of respecting both a student and his/her expectations of staying sane and getting sleep.

Dead Week should be “dead,” but students shouldn’t have to glorify the name by feeling that way too.

Rather than sneak in a flurry of last-minute assignments, faculty should play fairly and plan their class semester a little better. They should know better than to “bend the rules” in times of stress.