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The Daily Cardinal Est. 1892
Friday, February 07, 2025

Committee seeks fall break for UW-Madison students

A student government branch said Tuesday it is working with administrators in hopes of providing UW-Madison students with a fall break in future years.

The break would take place in October or November and  would last two days.

University Affairs Committee member Danielle Gries, who proposed the break, said students typically had a fall break in high school and taking it away in college could be stressful, especially for freshmen.

""I think that its important to have a little bit of a break so students are less stressed,"" said Gries.

But Wisconsin State Law poses an obstacle for the creation of the fall break.

Under state law, classes must start on or after Sept. 1 and students must make up any school days they because of breaks within the semester.

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 Since classes dismiss for the semester on Dec. 23, barely any time for make-up is allotted.

 If UAC members are able to get over the obstacle the law puts in place, the next step in creating the fall break would be to take the proposal to the Faculty Senate for approval.

Gries said Dean of Students Lori Berquam has said she would support a fall break as long as it takes place in October.

Berquam feels the presence of the accustomed break would help deter the stresses of adapting to college, Gries said.

Gries said she plans to send a survey to undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty members at UW-Madison to better understand how they feel about a fall break. Last year, she sent a similar survey she said received very positive feedback.

This year, Gries said she wants the survey to reach more of the campus community.

 ""I really want to expand this to all people on campus to see how they feel,"" said Gries.

Also at the meeting, UAC members said they are working to create a Financial Opportunities Fair to educate students on how to make financial decisions.

The fair is set to take place Feb. 27. The committee would promote financial education in the week after the fair.

UAC members said events taking place during the week could include the fair, appointments with financial advisors and lectures by the UW Credit Union.

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