As Thanksgiving break approaches, the thoughts of many Penn students turn to home. Unfortunately, by having class on Wednesday, Penn is putting both students and professors in a decidedly awkward position.
Some professors cancel class on Wednesday, because of their own travel plans or because they are aware of their students' situation. Some don't. The University should spare everyone the trouble and let students have the day off to travel. While we know the academic calendar is planned in advance, Penn should seriously consider this issue.
Thanksgiving is a holiday that many students spend with their family. This is well-known, as is the fact that Penn students come from all over the United States. So why does Penn make it harder for students to get home?
It's possible that the University schedules it this way to maintain the balance of classes that meet Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays versus those that meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Also, for seminar courses that meet only once a week on Wednesdays, missing that would be the equivilant of missing a week of class.
But throughout the course of the semester, it is common for a class to not meet for one day, due to sickness or other absence on the part of the professor, so this balance never stays constant.
Even when students purchase tickets well in advance, there are restrictions on what days are more affordable to travel. Making Wednesday part of the Thanksgiving holiday would acknowledge and account for this difficulty. It would also keep professors from the uncomfortable position of feeling that they must hold class despite knowing that many students won't be in attendance.
