Next year's fall break will be shortened to one weekday in order to bring an earlier end to the semester, according to administration officials.
During consideration of changes to be made to the Fall 2006 academic calendar, Student Government President Kyle Taylor proposed the compromised solution, which the General Assembly endorsed and the university approved last week.
Taylor said the new calendar allows 90 percent of the campus to finish their final exams four days early.
Before Taylor proposed the SG's preferred calendar option, the university was considering three possible fall schedules, one of which would leave the calendar as it stands this year. Currently students receive two weekdays off for fall break in mid-October and two study days before final examinations at the end of the semester.
The other two options would have allowed for only one study day throughout the semester, either as a fall break in mid-October, with no study days for final exams, or as a final exam study day in December, which would eliminate fall break altogether.
Acting Provost Ivy Broder said administrators "tried to find a compromise among the most pressing concerns" of students, faculty and staff.
SG Secretary Joseph Vidulich said the administration "showed a great deal of concern for both the students and the faculty in finding a solution that satisfies both."
Acting President Neil Kerwin said at a Sept. 7 SG meeting that "the notion of preservation of study days is important, but I think I'd be willing to give up a day of fall break if it means an earlier end to the semester."
Kerwin pointed out some of the current difficulties with the semester ending so late, including the impairment of travel plans and the stress on faculty to get final exams graded quickly.
Kerwin expressed skepticism that students could be so stressed out by mid-October that they need a two-day break.
Charlie Biscotto, clerk of the GA, said that he found the break to be welcome last year when he was a freshman.
"It was really nice for me to just de-stress for a couple of days," Biscotto said.
The revised fall calendar will be in place through 2007, in order to allow for a thorough evaluation of its effectiveness, said Broder.
The administration cited other concerns that led to their reconsideration of the current fall calendar, including fall break being unnecessary 6 to 7 weeks into the semester and the complication it causes for planning Family Weekend because the events are only two weeks apart.
The administration also noted that AU is the only university in the Washington area with a two-day fall break.
Georgetown University and Catholic University celebrate Columbus Day as a holiday, while George Washington University has neither a fall break nor Columbus Day off.
GW junior Violet Ricker said even one day off in the middle of the semester would make a big difference.
"I miss my brother and sisters' birthdays every fall and don't get to go home to see them until Thanksgiving," she said. "I'd say most kids end up taking a day off anyway"
