Students flee IU early for Thanksgiving break

The issue of whether students should have a longer Thanksgiving break, start the school year earlier and add a fall break to the semester, or keep things the way they are has been discussed for years.\nFreshmen Phallon Perry and Rachel Murphy said they would rather have the full week off for Thanksgiving, even if it means starting the school year earlier. \nBut IU isn't the only campus where students are complaining. Purdue University students also only get Wednesday through Friday off for Thanksgiving break. But the difference is that Purdue also has a fall break, allowing students another chance to go home. \nNot too long ago, in May, a bill came before the IU Calendar and Scheduling Committee to change the fall semester schedule and implement a fall break.\n"Last year, the committee again considered a proposal to change the fall schedule," said Bloomington Faculty Council member David Daleke in an e-mail. "It was my understanding that this proposal addressed a potential fall break. The committee was split on the proposal, and it never came to the BFC for a vote." \nDaleke wasn't sure if the proposal would be resurrected this school year. So for students like Perry who are not as fortunate as Purdue students to have a fall break, adding extra days to their Thanksgiving break is important.\nThanksgiving break will be the first time Perry has seen her family since August. She plans to miss Monday and Tuesday classes to spend more time at home in Baltimore City, Md. She will be flying back Nov. 20, which, for her, poses a problem.\n"Because of the cost of plane tickets, I have to fly back a day early," Perry said. "The dorms will still be closed, but I won't be able to stay in Eigenmann because I won't be here when they are giving the keys out." \nPerry is also concerned about missing her French class. \n"I'm getting a zero out of 10 for participation because I'm missing class on Monday," she said.\nBut not all students have the same problem. Murphy has already been home several times this school year. \nHer hometown, Montgomery, Ind., is just 60 miles from campus. She said she took distance into consideration when picking which college to attend.\n"I miss my home when I'm away too long," Murphy said.\nShe plans to attend classes Monday and Tuesday, but her psychology class, held Tuesday nights, was cancelled by her professor. \n"My professor told us that no one would come to class anyway and that she has planned on that when creating the schedule for the year," Murphy said. \nAssistant Professor Scott Butler, who teaches a stress management course, had originally scheduled an exam for the Tuesday before Thanksgiving break. \n"Several students had already made plans to leave, so I had to reschedule the exam," he said. "It makes more sense to switch the exam. But I'll be holding normal class."\nButler also thinks a fall break would be a good idea. \n"I think it's worth it to start a couple of days earlier to have a couple of days off in the fall for the students to adequately recuperate during the semester."\n-- Contact staff writer Madison Natt at mnatt@indiana.edu.