Faculty voted against the implementation of a weeklong fall break at Tuesday’s faculty meeting, with 53% of faculty members denying a motion that would have extended Thanksgiving recess from its traditional three-day recess to a full week.
But students will still see an extension to this year’s Thanksgiving break: At the meeting, faculty voted to eliminate the morning classes that take place before noon on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
Both motions were proposed by Dean of the College Rashid Zia ’01, who added that the College Curriculum Council and the Graduate Council had approved the weeklong recess prior to the faculty meeting.
Zia explained that eliminating classes on the Monday and Tuesday of Thanksgiving week could be achieved by shortening the fall semester reading period by two days, noting that the change would require approval from the U.S. Department of Education. He emphasized that any changes made to the academic calendar cannot alter the final exam period.
Referencing the motion to cancel the half day of Wednesday classes before Thanksgiving, Zia explained that because many students have to travel a long distance home, a half-day to return is “not a realistic option.” He also added that the change would not require further approval from the Education Department.
Zia said many students and instructors have also raised concerns with continuing the half day of Wednesday classes as lectures scheduled for that day are often canceled anyway. He emphasized the importance of sticking to the schedule, regardless of what faculty decide to vote on.
“It is important that, whatever we choose to do, that we honor those dates,” he said. “We have an academic calendar — we all agree to ascribe to it.”
Dan Katz ScM’05 PhD’09, senior lecturer in mathematics, voiced opposition to the implementation of a week-long fall recess, explaining that while teaching courses with “fixed content, many of which are prerequisites for courses and other departments,” he would be forced to choose between teaching less material or teaching material more quickly.
“Teaching less material might create a gap between these courses and the courses students take next,” Katz said. “Teaching material faster would be potentially damaging to student learning, especially for first-year students who may already struggle with the pace of college courses.”
Elias Muhanna, an associate professor of comparative literature and history, also argued that a weeklong recess may cause students to leave even earlier, such as the Thursday or Friday before the weekend.
He also raised concerns about getting students “back in the game before exams” following the break — a sentiment echoed by Stephen Porder, associate provost for sustainability and a professor of ecology, evolutionary and organismal biology.
“The students sort of check out for a while over Thanksgiving anyway, as is very reasonable, but then they come back, there are projects due and then class is over,” Porder said. “That always feels like a mad rush, so I think that having a whole week off for Thanksgiving is only going to make that worse.”
David Rangel, an assistant professor of education, expressed his support for the week-long break because it would align with his children’s school schedule and prevent professors with children from having to find childcare while teaching.
“I see this not only as a benefit for students to go home, but also faculty with children that have to manage their daycare when daycare options are very limited,” Rangel said.
Katz also expressed concerns about the cancellation of morning classes on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving because he believed that would lead to student absences on Monday and Tuesday as well. Susanne Schennach, professor of economics, had similar concerns, calling the extension a “slippery slope” toward increased absences earlier in the week.
“I do think we have some risk associated with having a set of rules about what we’re doing to teach that we don’t necessarily follow,” Zia said. “I would like to give all of the faculty that do cancel classes on Wednesday — which is a choice that many have made — a set of guidance that affirms that decision.”
Uriel Priva, associate professor of linguistics, and Andrea Flores AM’11 PhD’15, an assistant professor of education, both emphasized that allowing students to leave early is particularly beneficial for low-income students who may not have the ability to pay for higher-priced tickets closer to the holiday.
The motion to cancel morning classes on Wednesday passed with 80% of faculty voting in favor of the elimination, effective this July.
Despite it being placed on the agenda for a vote at the Tuesday meeting, no motion about the Statement of University Values and Voice was voted on during the meeting. Kristina Mendicino, chair of the Faculty Executive Committee, and University Spokesperson Brian Clark did not respond to requests for comment about the motion.
At the faculty meeting, attendees also voted in favor of a motion to establish a master’s in management, a master’s of science in organizational leadership, a master’s of business analytics and a fifth-year master’s program in the department of Africana studies.
In addition, faculty passed a motion to limit students to declaring a maximum of two concentrations on their permanent records.
Zia said that this “would not prevent any students from completing all the requirements of a third concentration or writing on their resumes that they had done so,” rather it would set a maximum limit for official records.
Samah Hamid is a university news editor covering faculty and career & alumni. She is from Sharon, Massachusetts and plans to concentrate in Biology. In her free time, you can find her taking a nap, reading, or baking a sweet treat.
