Study Day should be on a Wednesday
As my last finals at Geneseo roll around, I’ve been reflecting on how my time here has been. There have certainly been highs and lows over the past four years, but overall, I consider them to be positive ones. I’ve had the honor of learning from good professors, making good friends, and doing a lot of great work with The Lamron. While it hasn’t always been perfect, I have certainly enjoyed educating and disseminating information into the community for the greater good, even if that information is simply my opinion. Without further ado, here goes the last opinion I wish to bestow upon the Geneseo community.
This semester, Study Day, a day of no classes or tests to kick off finals week, is on Thursday, May 11. In the past, Study Day was on a Tuesday, which makes this semester’s Study Day feel off. I would, however, argue that Study Day should be neither on a Thursday, nor a Tuesday. In fact, it should be on a Wednesday. I know you might think this is a strange hill to die on, but don’t worry dear reader, I have strong evidence to back up my claim.
Let’s begin with why Thursday is a horrible day for Study Day. Thursday is the day before Friday (I know—shocker!) and Friday, being an honorary part of the college weekend, is a day for relaxing and unwinding after a stressful week. Starting finals on what is basically the weekend, completely destroys the premise of the weekend. At that point, most students will have just finished one or two finals, and now will have to spend the weekend studying and preparing for two or more the next week as well. By starting finals on a Thursday, you can get more finals out of the way before the weekend so that there is less to study for the next week, and you can have more of a break. Taking the time to relax, study more casually, or chip away at a project over the weekend helps students balance their lives after a stressful semester/year and manage the workload of finals more easily.
Now, some of you might be thinking, “Emma, if you think that it’s better to use the weekend to relax, even if it’s just a little bit, then why not start finals on Wednesday, and have Study Day on a Tuesday?” Well friends, that would once again be a blunder to students. Firstly, Study Day being on Tuesday only allows classes on Monday to take place that week. Considering that most classes follow either a M/W/F schedule, or a T/R schedule, this would mean that only some classes that students have are actually going to be held that week, which could be valuable time for professors to help students before final tests and projects. Sure, some classes are only one day a week and those classes certainly would be missed, but you can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.
On top of that, like I’ve mentioned above: everything is about balance. Having two days of classes, a day off, then two days of finals helps to balance out the last week of school nicely. On top of that, having a two-day weekend followed by three days of finals is better than having four days of finals with no breaks.
As you can see, the schedule for finals week can play a crucial role in the success of students. Placing an emphasis on balance is a huge part of being a student, and no student can function their best in their obligations if they aren’t taking care of themselves. So, in hopes of a future where Study Day is consistently on a Wednesday, I will wish all of you luck with finals, and to my fellow seniors out there: congratulations on all of your hard work paying off!
