Finals schedule a nuisance

With the last day of exams on Dec. 22, students do not have enough time to settle in with their families before the holidays, according to some Norwich students.

"I believe we should get out earlier," said Simon Hugh, a 19-year-old international relations major from Miami, Fla.

According to Hugh, the short time period between his last exam and Christmas is extremely inconvenient.

"My last final isn't until the 22^nd," said Hugh. "I live in Miami, so it's just not a lot of time."

Some students believe that the finals schedule should be rearranged, according to Chuck Bousa, a 19-year-old sophomore studies of war and peace major from Broadalbin, N.Y.

"Move finals up a little bit and let us get out earlier.," Bousa said. "I'm lucky, I live close by, but for people who live far away, two days really isn't a lot of time."

To solve this issue, some students think that mid-semester break should be removed from the schedule to move the exam dates up a couple of days, according to Hugh.

"I like mid-semester break but at the same time it is kind of hard to find somewhere to go, so I think if we give up mid-semester break, it will help out in the long run," said Hugh, who has difficulty deciding where to go for mid-semester break due to the distance from his home.

According to Brig. Gen. Michael Kelley, vice president of Student Affairs and commandant of cadets, there is a system that is followed to determine when the school year begins and ends.

"It is a natural cycle of the calendar. It ranges from the earliest possible to the latest possible," Kelley said. "This year it is the latest possible rotation."

Classes start the week before Labor Day; there are 14 required weeks of classes and a week of exams.

"There has to be 14 weeks of classes because of ROTC scholarships," said Kelley "There is something about the academic semester having to be a minimum of 14 weeks."

Kelley explained the reason for mid-semester break. "The idea was that it was too long of a stretch between getting here and going home for Thanksgiving," said Kelley. "So the desire in there for the long weekend is something that President Schneider implemented shortly after he arrived."

Kelley agrees with students by saying that it is not convenient to get out two days before Christmas and would rather have students home earlier.

"It is not just Christmas," Kelley said. "There are Jewish holidays and all kinds of things that affect the vast majority of our students."

The cycle of the calendar this year is also causing graduation to be a week later than it usually is.

"Graduation day is traditionally Mother's Day," Kelley said. "This year we are not graduating on Mother's Day, we are graduating a week later."

The administration has been hearing complaints from students, faculty and parents concerning travel arrangements and other issues dealing with the semester ending so late in the year.

"We are in the shortest gap before the Christmas holiday that we can have," Kelley said. "But most people understand the cyclical nature of it."