Student Government voted to have reading days put into the fall 2009 schedule last year. The original intention for having reading days was to take the place of dead week or have three “dead” days and two reading days. But, according to Registration and Records, two reading days will be added in between dead week and exams, and the last day of exams will be Thursday, Dec. 17, 2009. This means there will be almost three full weeks of school after Thanksgiving break.

If this is how the schedule is going to be set up, there is no point to having reading days. Though the Calendar Committee only added an additional two days to our schedule, students, and the Technician, supported the idea of having reading days taking over some or all of dead week, not adding to it.

The addition of reading days to dead week just prolongs the misery and anticipation of exams and shortens winter break. This is not what students wanted during the creation of the Dead Week Policy Revision Act, the resolution that called for the adoption of two reading day to the school calendar.

Now, many professors and instructors see dead week as a time to turn in papers and projects, even though it is supposed to be a time for review of class material. The idea of reading days was to give students a couple days to have optional reviews and spend two days preparing for exams without the pressure of turning in class work. The calendar would be better off with having just a dead week and no reading days.

The bill was created because students were unsatisfied with the way professors and instructors were treating dead week. One way that students can be satisfied with dead week is to enforce the dead week policy.  Also, if professors and instructors are violating dead week policies, report them to department heads. In addition to this, professors and instructors need to have some sort of punishment if they violate dead week policy instead of a slap on the wrist that won’t change their habits.

The ideal schedule before exams would be to have three days of dead week and two reading days.  Fortunately, reading days doesn’t have to be permanent.

Students unsatisfied with fall 2009’s schedule can voice their concerns best by talking to senators, according to student senator Morgan Donnelly.  With enough people, we can a calendar that we originally advocated for.