Student referendum calling for extended winter break goes live

An Undergraduate Student Government referendum calling for a three-week winter break during the 2015-16 academic year opened for voting online on Monday. The vote, which ends on Wednesday at noon, is not binding.

USG president Ella Cheng '16 said a demonstration of student support is necessary to convince the faculty and University to work on revising the calendar.

“The purpose of the referendum is to really give backing to that call for a second faculty vote,” Cheng said, referring to the first faculty vote that approved the 2015-16 academic calendar. “We really need this for there to be movement ... There is a huge majority of students who want this to be changed, so I take that stance as well, and I support [passing the referendum], too.”

Cheng noted that it might be difficult to have the 2015-16 academic calendar altered due to it being a short-term issue, but that part of the purpose of the referendum was to also have the formula determining the calendar revised for years to come.

Currently, winter breakbegins on the Friday in the week of Dec. 12-18 and ends on the Sunday in Jan. 2-8, meaning that winter break varies annually from being approximately two weeks to approximately three weeks in length.

The academic yearbegins on the Wednesday falling in Sept. 10-16.

USG vice president Aleksandra Czulak ’17 said turnout was crucial to the success of the referendum in prompting change.

“More students need to vote so that, when we bring it to the administration, wehavemore to show for it,” Czulak said.

Czulak noted that the November referendum calling for transparency in protocols and practices relating to student withdrawals and readmissions for mental health-related reasons had an overwhelming 95.5 percent approval rating from student voters.

“I think two weeks for a winter break is too short, especially since finals is afterwards,” David Gilhooley ’17 said.

Kendall Bedford ’17 said that a three-week winter break was preferable and would allow her to spend more time with friends.

But other students, like Stacey Park’17, said that they did not mind having a shorter break.

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“I didn’t think the break was that short,” Park said. “Reading period is stressful, but that also feels like a break to me. I don’t feel like we really need a three-week break, and I like when school starts."

Reasons listed in the referendum resolution for maintaining a three-week winter break included allowing international students and students from lower-income backgrounds the opportunity to spend more time with friends and family at the same fixed cost of travel, giving students more time to complete classwork and assignments before reading period and allowing seniors with thesis deadlines in January an additional week of work.

“USG doesn’t have the power to change the calendar, but what thereferendum would do is call upon the USG senate to collaborate with students, faculty andadministrators,” Czulak said.