IU open to adding fall break

On Oct. 11 and 12, students at Purdue University will be out of the classroom and into leisure activities, celebrating Purdue's fall break. On Oct. 18 and 19, students at Ball State University will do the same in recognition of their own fall recess. \nDuring these same four days, students at IU will truck from Ballantine Hall to Swain West and back to the Stadium Lot for another round of first-semester classes because IU is the only school in the state that does not implement a fall break. \nFreshman Katrina Coppedge said she'd like to go home before Thanksgiving. Originally from Indiana, Coppedge's mother recently moved to Texas. \n"She's the only family I've got," Coppedge said. "When Thanksgiving hits, I still won't have a full week to see her." \nWhile Coppedge said flying home for a two-day break may not be conventional, extending Thanksgiving recess to a full week and adding a preliminary academic break might be useful. \n"I know a Ball State transfer who was shocked when he found out we didn't have a fall break," Branch said. "He was counting on that to see family and friends."\nDean of Students Richard McKaig said there are several things to consider when the University's calendar committee decides whether to honor a fall recess. McKaig said an enormous deciding factor is the University's science-oriented classes and others that may require student labs. \n"Taking away two consecutive days would mean that different lab sections would become unbalanced, some sections further along than others," McKaig said. \nMcKaig said IU's calendar committee, made up of Bloomington faculty members, must reach a consensus to approve such things as fall recess. He said issues like fall break and a longer Thanksgiving recess are discussed every year.\n"The vote to not administer a fall break has always prevailed," McKaig said. "We start a week later than a lot of in-state schools. There is a sense of reason."\nPurdue Internal Operations and Production Assistant Cheryl Ballenger pointed mainly to a sense of tradition. As part of Purdue's Office of the Registrar, Ballenger helps construct the University calendar. \n"We've had a fall break since the early '50s," Ballenger said. \nBallenger added that Purdue sets the student calendar nearly 10 years in advance. Since Purdue's academic agenda is already scheduled as far ahead as May 2009, Boilermakers can expect a fall break for at least the next five years. \nMcKaig said it is expected that other colleges will adhere to a different schedule, as IU has always been a separate entity. \n"I would be willing to support a fall break," he said, "but it's not entirely up to me."\n-- Contact staff writer Amber Kerezman at akerezma@indiana.edu.