When you come into college as a first-year, your parents hug you goodbye and say, “I’ll see you on Parents Weekend,” which at that point is more than a month away — unless you get majorly homesick and go home for Labor Day, that is.
It’s a tough month, sure, with adjusting to college courses, living with a stranger and having to shower in flip-flops, but when your parents come by after about a month (with cookies and whatever clothes you forgot), you’re in a good enough place to say, “I love it here.” A week later, you’re eating your first home-cooked meal in weeks during fall break, and a month after that, you’ve got Thanksgiving.
When you come into college for your spring semester, there’s a month and a half of the most intense studying you’ve done in your life, about a week at home and then the most cramming you’ve ever done so you can halfway enjoy your Drake Relays season. Weekends feel shorter, the weekdays blur together and you can barely remember how to spell your last name by the time you’re celebrating St. Patrick’s Day.
We need a break. Spring Break isn’t enough, especially when compared to the sheer amount of days off in the fall semester.
Spring semester has Relays, a pressing need to find either summer internships or a job for post-graduation and housing and roommates for the next year. Beyond planning their futures, students probably have internships or J-Terms to wrap up.
Spring semester also has less hand-holding than the beginning of the academic year. While fall semester had President Marty Martin helping you move in and icebreakers in class, spring semester is for the seasoned pros. Professors cram more information into what feels like less time and expect you to hit the ground running from day one until finals.
There are the obvious days which we could get off — Eid al-Fitr, a day dedicated to being with family post-Ramadan, Easter monday, for traveling purposes post-Jesus rising, or Passover, which requires abstention from work, but I’d like to suggest some unconventional days.
Presidents Day, a holiday honoring George Washington’s birthday! Not only is Presidents Day set right in the time when classes are getting serious, but it’s also in that era when you’re trekking through slush questioning why you moved to Iowa of all places. A day off in Washie’s name to relax and rejuvenate might ease those regrets!
Groundhog Day! A day where the world’s most overpaid bullshitter wakes up from his year-long nap to stare at the ground. We deserve a day-long nap, after which we wake up and stare at the snow on the ground, still there despite Punxatawney Phil saying spring was here.
March 6! A holiday honoring “I have an essay due that day,” traditionally celebrated in residence halls by hiding under the bed and crying. When 11:59 p.m. strikes, take every piece of nearby religious iconography nearby and pray.
Beyond official holidays, when the sun shines after months of gray skies and slush on the streets, I want a day off to enjoy it.
Some older colleges had traditions where they give their students the first warm, clear day off to relax outside. Something like that would be wonderful at Drake, and beyond benefits to the students, it would be great for admissions, another tradition like Hubbelling or Kissing Rock to ham up on tours.
Whether it’s an official holiday or not, somewhere in this marathon before Relays week, we runners need a break. Time to catch our breath on days that aren’t already booked up for internships or jobs. Time to relax, not do homework and remind ourselves that there’s a world outside of Drake University’s study rooms.
