Reading days to be shortened in fall '98

Calendar shift forcedCalendar shift forcedby late Labor Day This semester, students were able to enjoy three official reading days before entering the final exam period. But because Labor Day will fall later than usual in 1998, there will only be one reading day for that year's fall semester. Classes will end Friday, December 11, and finals will begin the following Tuesday. And fall break will be shortened by one day. Typically, classes for the fall semester end on a Monday, with three reading days following. But Labor Day will be on September 7, 1998 -- a week after classes usually start -- meaning the changes in the fall schedule were necessary to keep the requisite number of school days in the semester. This problem occurs every five years. The last time Labor Day fell late in the calendar was 1992, when the University solved the problem by cutting one day from fall break. The new three-year academic calendar -- published in last week's Almanac -- also shows a fall break that is one day shorter. The shortened fall break will make it difficult for students who live far away to go home, College freshman Courtney Fine said. The Undergraduate Assembly representative added that fall break is usually one of the only weekends such students can return home. The calendar changes will only affect this year's freshman class, because other students will have graduated by fall 1998. College freshman Brian Knowles said he could not form an opinion on the new schedule, since he was not sure what other options were available for administrators to rectify the problem. The Council of Undergraduate Deans discussed various proposals to amend the calendar last month but decided on these current changes, executive assistant to the vice provost for University Life Terry Conn said. The Student Committee on Undergraduate Education members who belong to the council were not in favor of cutting a day from fall break, SCUE Chairperson and Wharton junior Ben Nelson said. Nelson protested the new calendar, which effectively reduces seven potential study days -- three reading days and two weekends -- to only three. "You should be taking over College Hall because of these changes," Nelson said.