UW-Madison students know how unpleasant it is to take a final exam after pulling an all-nighter. However, Associated Students of Madison hopes to lessen the stress and sleep deprivation during finals week by adding a study day between the last day of class and the first day of finals.
Currently, UW-Madison is the only Big Ten school without numerous study days built into the semester. As ASM Campus Relations Chair Christie Penn said, ""This leads to unnecessary stress and sleep deprivation, and this shows a lack of consideration for students' academic efforts.""
However, not having days for rest and study seems to be part of a larger trend plaguing our generation: that of being continuously on the move and ignoring basic needs for solitude, relaxation and observation. College students are busier than ever today—we attend class, do homework and study, participate in activities and organizations, exercise and often hold jobs.
On top of this, we must do it all well because our teachers and others in authority taught us that any slip-up or misstep would completely wreck any chances of future success and happiness. If we're not stressed because we are so busy, we're stressed because of this enormous pressure put on us.
In his book ""Binge: Campus Life in an Age of Disconnect and Excess,"" Barrett Seaman writes, ""At every campus I visited, deans and counseling directors spoke of a palpable level of stress among students, of an emotional fragility and inflexibility that provided no cushion for those who suffer setbacks, even seemingly minor ones.""
We've been taught since we were little to always be in motion and cram our schedules full of after-school activities. Our teachers and parents seemed to think if we had any free time to play or use our imaginations, we would lose our marketability or turn into drug dealers.
Nowadays we are overachieving even in our downtime, drinking so much that we have earned the ranking of the No. 1 party school in the United States.
Perhaps not having study breaks at UW-Madison is symptomatic of the trend of those in authority pushing young people to overwork themselves. Or perhaps the administration simply hasn't adapted to the new stresses and workload college students face.
Either way, however, UW-Madison should build study days into the semester calendar to give students time to relax, sleep and take care of their mental health. A three-day weekend here and there, such as many other Big Ten schools offer, could do much to relieve the pressure and stress many students feel.
Moreover, study breaks would give students time to absorb and let all the new knowledge presented to them germinate. Students could truly internalize class material, instead of merely cramming it in and spitting it back out on exams. Teaching students to cram knowledge and then forget it immediately after the exam certainly cannot be a goal of the administration.
Yes, it is good for college students to learn how to manage their time, work under pressure and study quickly. However, in this day and age where faster is better and quantity often trumps quality, it is just as important for college students to learn to rest, relax and observe the world around them.
It is just as valuable for us to learn how to be solitary and take time for ourselves. In the end, if we stop and smell the roses once in a while, we'll be richer, fuller people—which should be the ultimate goal of any college education.
