Spring fever

Spring midterms attract distractions like flies to garbage. There are the usual obstacles for our attention: Facebook notifications, girls realizing now that it’s warm they don’t need to wear anything more than a sports bra and tights...

But there is one thing we never consider: colleges with spring breaks at different times than our own.

As you read this, college students are making bad decisions in Cancun, Mexico. And MTV is probably filming those mistakes for some new reality show, perhaps called “Down and Out in Mexico.”

This weekend was predestined to be a marathon of studying, but it’s amazing how quickly that can be overturned by out-of-state friends coming to visit as part of their own spring breaks. How am I supposed to focus on macroeconomics when my BFF is out at some backyard party without my guidance?

Because our school schedules are not aligned, the world of academics is not in harmony. Here is an obvious example of IU not fulfilling my social needs as a student, in favor of something silly like academics.

Spring break fever seems to become a form of mini-senioritis. With the promise of relaxation and carefree fun on the horizon, it can be difficult to care about an 8 a.m. class.

While I understand the havoc an Internet connection can wreak on your focus, we are supposed to be fledgling adults. If we can’t be disciplined enough to power through a week of school, those of us without trust funds are not likely to survive in the real world.

This request is going to fall on deaf ears to those it concerns. I imagine any member of the IU administration who reads this to spill coffee as he or she laughs at the plight of us poor college students who are having a hard time studying. But please, person of authority – consider how much smoother things would run if the schedule were adjusted.

I propose cooperation with the other colleges in setting academic schedules, like a United Nations of studying. This problem goes beyond spring break. Summer, winter – no breaks are consistent. If students had schedule harmony, the planets would align, and we would all be the better for it.

Think of the strain local police officers have to deal with because outsiders come to visit their IU friends. And I’m sure there are faculty members who miss their professor friends at other institutions – think not just of us students, but of the instructors who need to get their swerve on as well.

Every college lists in its talking points that it’s trying to make students worldly. But how are we supposed to acheive that if we can’t even interact with our peers a hundred miles away?

Some adjustment needs to be made. Either move midterms after spring break, or create unity with the other students. This economy is in need of some stimulating, and nothing says “let’s spend large sums of money” like a road trip with buddies.