Student Government’s Senate passed a resolution Wednesday to extend the University’s Thanksgiving break to a full week. If the resolution is adopted by the University, it will not go into effect until the 2012 or 2013 fall start dates.
The resolution would require the fall start date to fall on a Wednesday instead of the usual Thursday, and will most likely cause STRIPES, Greek rush, band camp and move-in dates to be about one week earlier. The University’s Faculty Senate will discuss similar legislation next Tuesday.
“This would adjust the schedule for the beginning of the year,” said Jackson Voss, University Center for Freshman Year senator and one of the authors of the resolution. “This is the only way we can preserve fall break and have a week-long Thanksgiving break.”
Voss and Meredith Westbrook, College of Music and Dramatic Arts senator and the bill’s other author, said before crafting this legislation, they discussed ending the fall semester later or eliminating fall break.
Westbrook said she was told there are stringent requirements for finals week which make ending the semester later not feasible.
Voss said the University “needs” fall break, and the Student Health Center has encouraged the University to maintain fall break because it was created to lower the risk of suicide and stress-related issues.
Sens. Brian Baudoin, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Carolyn Hill, graduate school, both expressed their support of the bill as out-of-state students. They said they normally cannot go home for Thanksgiving because the break is too short.
The Senate also passed a resolution to reform the priority points system.
“What we want to do is reward students who go to all home games,” said Tyler Loga, UCFY senator and one of the bill’s authors.
During executive officer reports, SG Vice President Dani Borel shared the official list of low-completer programs with the senators.
“We may not be graduating a lot of people, but it is essential that we have [these programs] as the flagship,” Borel said.
Borel also said the University now has new “peers,” as Kansas State University is no longer classified as a peer to the University, but Mississippi State University and the University of Arkansas are peers to the University.
Borel also showed the senators possible designs for all covered bus stops to be built on the University’s campus.
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Contact Andrea Gallo at [email protected]
SG votes to lengthen Thanksgiving break; measure awaits University approval
March 9, 2011