What do a six- to eight-page paper, a final project and a weekly reading ?response have in common?
“Dead week,” that’s what.
Whenever I talk with people who aren’t college students about “dead week,” their first response is usually something along the lines of, “Oh, I guess you won’t be very busy then? It is dead week, after all.”
Typically my first response is to nervously chuckle, then point out the large, gaping flaw in their logic.
“Dead week” is a myth for the majority of the IU ?student population.
In order to stop the perpetuation of this falsehood, I will not use the phrase for the rest of my column.
This past semester going into my first week before finals, I didn’t have ?many expectations.
Maybe a little less homework, since a bit more free time would be welcome, but not much more than that.
That week, I had at least one major project due, as well as a variety of other small assignments.
It was around this time I first realized the truth about the week before finals. At the very least it is a misnomer, and at worst, a conspiracy to keep students complacent with a system in which professors don’t seem to be able to schedule projects to be due at any other time of ?the year.
This semester is much worse. The examples I provided in the rhetorical question at the beginning of this column aren’t even the full extent of my schedule for ?the week.
So today, I wish to discuss why this myth still exists, even though for many students this week is more stressful than finals week.
The groups of students without major assignments due this week are a contributing force to the perpetuation of the myth.
In all fairness, most of these students recognize their luck: this isn’t their first rodeo, so to speak, just a ?happy coincidence.
No, their contribution lies in forces outside of their control — in their parents, coworkers and others who are outside of IU.
Their perception of this week is fueled by the fact that “my son/daughter doesn’t have any work this week, so that must be an accurate representation of the experiences of ?other students.”
These can’t be the only groups to perpetuate the myth, however.
All too often, I have heard what might be the most harmful fallacy of all: “Because professors aren’t allowed to assign anything the week before finals, that particular week must be easier, on average, than others during the semester.”
The main flaw here is this is essentially untrue; professors can potentially assign anything this week.
The trick is they generally don’t, but that doesn’t stop half of them from making the culminating assignments of the class due this week.
My caution to you, dear reader, is to stay informed.
Know when the assignments in your classes are due and try not to procrastinate too much because they will most likely all be due by noon on the same day.
It’s the home stretch, and though it seems like your professors are trying to kill you, you can survive the week before finals.
mccinkos@indiana.edu
