UNI Northern Iowan, IA
02-20-07
Full week of Thanksgiving break
Tim McCue
NI News Writer
Two days really do make a difference.
At the last Board of Regents meeting, the regents approved a calendar change
that gives University of Northern Iowa Students an entire weeks vacation
surrounding the Thanksgiving holiday.
Previously, students had class up through the Tuesday of Thanksgiving week,
now the break will technically begin the preceding Friday before Thanksgiving
week.
Grant Erwin, UNI student body president, said complaints about Thanksgiving
break have been at the top of students’ lists for all five years he has been at the
university.
Erwin said he met with UNI President Ben Allen to discuss the issue almost
immediately after Allen assumed the presidency last spring.
“It was obvious to students these two days weren’t very beneficial to their
education, but did present a barrier to family travel and a much-needed chance
to relax,” Erwin said.
Former UNI President Robert Koob opposed extending break during his tenure.
He didn’t want students to lose days of academic instruction under any
circumstances.
With the recemt change presidential in leadership, student government leaders
saw an opportunity to enact change. Both the University of Iowa and Iowa State
University give students a full week vacation at Thanksgiving.
Allen was previously the ISU provost, something that Erwin thinks helped
facilitate UNI’s move.
Student government leadership has made extending break a priority for a long
time.
This year, Erwin and Vice President Jennifer Younie put their plan, a major
component of their campaign last spring, into action.
In addition to meeting with the president, Erwin and Younie met with the deans of
all six of UNI’s colleges twice in the last year specifically to address the issue.
Each time they found strong support for the extension.
The calendar change is effective for fall 2007. Break will begin Saturday, Nov. 17
and classes will resume Monday Nov. 26. Finals week for the fall 2007 semester
begins Monday Dec. 10.
“The fall semester is a long one, and students need a descent break to travel and
relax before the stress of finals,” Erwin said.