Spring Break kicked off to an early start for St. John’s students this last week of February. But with midterms right around the corner and winter making its final rounds, is it really fair to call it Spring Break?
That name would be quite deceptive for students who found themselves in a no-win situation.
It was difficult to rejoice and revel in the idea of a week off when professors struggled to cram in last minute information to prepare students for
midterms and threats of an upcoming winter storm were looming. Because of this, it is no surprise that students are up in arms over the way St. John’s schedules its exams and breaks.
Many would argue that having midterms right after Spring Break contradicts the idea of being on break. They feel that they are just not going to study because it’s Spring Break.
If the school gave midterms before the break, then they would pass with higher grades.
The idea of having midterms prior to Spring Break would relieve students of the stress and anxiety of knowing that midterms are waiting for them when they return.
One could compare this situation to exercising. If a person were to interrupt his exercise routine for a week, he would lose his edge when he finally went back. Instead of going immediately into his regimen, that person would have to do a variety of stretches to get those muscles moving fluidly again.
Like those muscles, our minds have to be refreshed. Does St. John’s expect its students to be ready to dive right into exams after a week off the studying regimen?
Many students believe midterms should be at least two weeks before or after Spring Break so that they can relax instead of spending more time studying. They also would like the break to be in the spring instead of one month into the semester.
By having it so early, the weather is still cold which makes it difficult to make use of their vacation time.
This year St. John’s scheduled its Spring Break from Feb 25 to March 1. Many other colleges have their break at least two weeks later, such as Stony Brook University.
Of course students should not blame professors for the current exam schedule because they have no control over it. However, some schedule midterms according to their own pace.
On the other hand, many would probably argue that life isn’t always fair and such situations prepare us for the real world. We are college students and should be able to handle what is thrown at us.
There are a variety of options to remedy this unfortunate situation, but they may pose some consequences of their own. Would having the break a few weeks before midterms have made sense this year, with students just returning from Winter Break?
If the school did push midterms up earlier professors would not have been able to cover enough material to have a midterm. As it is now, professors are still finding it difficult to give us all the information before exams.
This leaves the option of having Spring Break after midterm week. This would ensure that students were rested and professors would be ready to tackle a brand new subject with refreshed minds ready to absorb the information.
St. John’s should exercise the idea of changing the schedule of Spring Break and midterm week for future years so that it is fair for the students and professors. That way, students won’t be at such a disadvantage and would do better on exams.
