SC President Polson Kanneth met with Provost Cornelius Kerwin on Tuesday to urge him to keep fall break on the calendar. The University Council will meet Friday to discuss the issue and decide whether to keep fall break or merge it with Thanksgiving break.
"We have the weight of the student body overwhelmingly behind us," Kanneth said. "We have proved our case right now, and we will prove it again."
The Faculty Senate and the Graduate Leadership Council approved a proposal that would eliminate fall break and make Thanksgiving break a full week, The Eagle reported Oct. 14.
President Benjamin Ladner's cabinet has decided not to make a ruling on the issue, leaving it up to the University Council. The Council includes Kanneth and Graduate Leadership Council President Zen Hunter-Ishikawa, as well as faculty and staff members. The GLC and faculty do not support the position of the SC, arguing that fall break distracts from classes too early in the semester, and that a full-week break at Thanksgiving would be more beneficial to catch up on studies and visit family. The SC argues that it is a stress-relieving break that is beneficial to many undergraduate students.
"It's going before [Ladner] and the University Council ... so hopefully they will take into account the students' views since we are the majority of the University," said Adam Rosenblatt, chair of the General Assembly's Academic Review Committee.
Rosenblatt has been working with Kanneth to keep fall break and established the e-mail KeepFallBreak@hotmail.com to get student input on the matter.
"We're going to have a big compiled list and put together all the e-mails and give that to the provost and the president to show them a record," Rosenblatt said. "It's very important for students to have a break in between [Labor Day and Thanksgiving], whether they use it to study or just to relax and unwind, especially for freshmen and transfer students"
