Unfortunately for us, the reading period has been cut short, reduced to the size of a mere weekend. With only two days of a break between regular class times and finals, a compelling question arises: Is two days really long enough to warrant the title “reading period?” After all, if classes had conveniently ended on a Friday and finals started the following Monday, the weekend could hardly be dubbed anything more than a weekend.
Many professors have “relieved” us from the pain of weekend exams by moving exams to dates before classes end. This gives us even less time to prepare, and negates the purpose of reading period. In addition, it also adds to the already high level of stress resulting from the last week of classes. To make matters worse, in order to lighten their grading load close to Christmas, professors have also made final papers due before reading period.
So in addition to final papers and projects due during the last couple weeks, some students have coinciding final exams. Those whose professors chose to use the designated exam period barely have enough time to recover from the barrage of reading and assignments due during the last couple classes to appropriately study for their final exams. This is definitely a lose-lose situation.
We realize the constraints that the College must work under when creating the year’s schedule. However, we believe that the finals schedule has been reduced to a cramped affair and not been given the attention it deserves. There is much to be said about two extra days before an exam, both in the amount of comfort it gives students and in the amount of work that can be achieved in that time. Moreover, professors should respect the purpose of reading period and finals week and stop having all work due before classes end. We are unable even able to devote our full attention to these assignments, which in most cases are worth a significant percentage of our final grades.
We offer a few suggestions to help avoid this collective mental overload on the part of the student body. First of all, the reading period should really be longer. In reality we don’t even have a reading period, since it is equivalent to a weekend. Some schools have as much as a week, and we are not asking for that much, but four or five days would be a realistic and helpful solution. To achieve this goal, professors may have to assign less work, or we might have to get a couple days less of vacation time. This is a sacrifice we are sure many would be willing to make in exchange for the thousands of migraines experienced between Thanksgiving and winter break. All in all, the current reading period is insufficient and is detrimental to our brains, morale and well-being.