as caused quite a bit of controversy among UW-Madison students. Along with the objection of starting classes before Labor Day, many students are upset that the final exam schedule will run till just two days before Christmas.
\I feel bad for anyone who has exams on the last day and lives far away,"" said UW-Madison freshman Sarah Glider. ""I'm upset with the fact that I have an exam on [Dec.] 23 and I only live an hour away. I can't imagine how others are feeling.""
Last year, final exams took place the week of December 14-20.
This allowed students, even from far parts of the country, to arrive home in time for the holidays.
Another problem with this year's calendar concerns the fact that classes began the Thursday before Labor Day. After reviewing the academic calendar of other Big Ten schools on the semester system, students have noticed that many did not start until after the holiday. The semester schedule comparisons show that Minnesota students attend 70 days of school during the fall semester, whereas UW-Madison students will attend 72 days. Although two days may seem insignificant to some, others argue that those days could be used toward a fall break.
""I'm upset that we don't have a fall break,"" said UW-Madison freshman Allison Kopher. ""How does it make sense that Minnesota students started two days after us, and yet continue on the same schedule as UW-Madison for the remainder of the year? We could certainly use those days to our advantage and take a fall break or at least get the Wednesday before Thanksgiving off.""
If starting two days before Labor Day isn't bad enough, take a look at next year's calendar. UW-Madison students will begin classes on Friday, Sept. 2, then have Monday off for the holiday, only to return again on Tuesday.
""I just don't understand the purpose for running the calendar this way. I think we should either start classes earlier and end the semester earlier, or wait until after Labor Day,"" UW-Madison junior Justin Laube said. ""It makes more sense to begin after Labor Day, and allows students more time to move in. If we started on Tuesday, at least we would have the weekend to get settled in. I feel it is unnecessary to start, stop, and then start again.""
UW-Madison is pigeon-holed between requirements set by the Board of Regents, the state and popular opinion, according to David Musolf, secretary of the faculty. The Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate is responsible for coming up with the schedules.
""We are required by the Board of Regents to provide 150 days of organized student services equally divided between the semesters,"" Musolf said. ""And the state Legislature has passed legislation that prohibits us from starting classes untill after Sept. 1.""
Add these constraints to the desire by both students and faculty to have the fall semester finish before Christmas, and it is simply a matter of crunching the numbers to come up with the calendar.
""In the past we had a lame duck session where we would go on break for two weeks for Christmas and New Year's and then came back to fulfill the requirement of student service days and exams,"" Musolf said.
The faculty do sympathize with students and agree the plan is not ideal, but unless the Legislature changes the law (unlikely since it is backed heavily by the tourist industry of the state), it comes down to choosing between the lesser of two evils.
""What is worse? Having to start on the Friday before Labor Day weekend and be gone three days and then come back or is it worse to go away for two weeks and then come back for a few days and exams?"" Musolf said.
Despite the general disappointment with the situation, there is one community that is generally supportive of the UW-Madison's calendar.
Greg Steinberger is the executive director of Hillel, a student Jewish center. According to him, UW-Madison could not be better in their accommodation of individuals participating in Jewish holy days such as Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Sukkot.
""Every year [the university] sends out a note to faculty that they cannot penalize for absence or schedule exams on those days,"" Steinberger said. ""I would not be critical of the university. I think they have a reasonable and appropriate policy.""
Musolf remembered a conundrum that came about in 1994 when the first scheduled day of classes was Sept. 2, which that year also happened to be Rosh Hashana.
""The Jewish community was quite concerned about our starting classes on a Jewish holiday, and so there had to be a special act of legislation that allowed us to start on the first,"" he said.
This is a perfect example of what Steinberger said is the university's extra effort to accommodate both the letter and spirit of the rule.
However, conflicts arise between the letter and the spirit when students wish to go home to celebrate the holy days and may want or have to leave before the official holy day starts. Steinberger is sympathetic to these individuals who may feel they are unable to participate in the holy day they want to, but recognizes that does go beyond the scope of the rules.
""We have families who call us all the time about buying [plane] tickets,"" Steinberger said. ""And I tell them to try to leave as late as possible.\
