This year’s early spring break was the result of planning between the college staff, faculty, and the registrar’s office.
“It only appeared early,” Provost David Whalen said. “In fact, it was as close to the halfway point as we could reasonably make it.”
Spring break of 2014 began on March 7, while last year’s spring break began on March 22, considerably later in the semester.
The early date was the result of talks and requests taken in by the registrar, who then put together a complete calendar.
“We want to please everyone, but, of course, that’s impossible,” Whalen said. “If you wanted to shoehorn in everything you wanted in a day, you’d probably need 32 hours.”
It was in these talks that the earlier date was decided upon.
“The halfway point is advisable, because both students and staff are kind of at a breaking point,” Whalen said.
Whalen said previous spring breaks seemed to occur too late in the semester to offer staff and students any kind of adequate rest period. The proximity of the breaks to the end of the semester also made it difficult for people to get back into a routine.
“That proved that we needed a break that could do the most academic good,” he said.
Some inconveniences arose in planning the break early. For example, the college was not able to line up their break with that of the academy’s.
“It was sad to lose that, but what we gained was worth it,” Whalen said.