Kevin Gates once said, “Anything lost can be found again, except time wasted.”
On Jan. 13, 2020, the LSU Tigers became the 2019 national champions, following a historic win over the Clemson Tigers. The University’s Board of Supervisors recognized the importance of the occasion and canceled classes due to safety concerns about students driving back from the event, along with a desire to give students ample opportunity to experience the game.
But they didn’t stop there. An email from the Division of Strategic Communication on Jan. 17 quickly dispelled any thoughts of lost school hours. In the email, students were informed that classes would be made up on two Saturdays, Jan. 25 and Feb. 8.
I have one huge problem with this updated calendar: hours spent in these make-up classes would be wasted time.
With hundreds of instructional hours a year, the University is not enlightening any minds with these two supplemental weekend days. Students would be better served with added homework and additional time for self-study and rest. Few students and professors were upset with the decision to cancel classes for the championship, but many are unhappy about this make-up decision.
The following weeks are sure to be sluggish and dull, as students will be forced to operate without the time normally reserved for recharge. Students can only pay full attention and exert maximum focus when they are functioning on routine schedules of sleep, work, and play. The additions of weekend class time act more as a punishment than a supplement.
Furthermore, the attendance level for these weekend classes will be abysmal, as many students will simply take a flex day instead of subjecting themselves to the equivalent of high school detention. Working on the weekends is annoying to some and downright sacrilegious to others. Sabbath days are still holy for some people, and a class on Saturday could even be considered a religious impediment.
As students, we are also preparing for the real world, and the University is tasked with fulfilling this goal. Fortune 500 companies are switching to three or four-day work weeks to boost productivity. An increased workload for the remaining hours in the business week is becoming the norm. Adding an extra business day is abnormal; the University fails to follow common protocol.
The University made a mistake in adding two supplemental days of class. The Board of Supervisors made the decision to add classes on Saturdays within days of their decision to cancel them. They made the right call the first time, but I believe the power that be have been remiss in their second decision. Saturday classes will prove to be a waste of time for many, time that can never be recovered.
Cory Koch is a 20-year-old political science junior from Alexandria, Louisiana.
