“I love finals!” said no Fordham University student ever, especially with finals officially starting next week on May 5 and language finals starting this Friday. Prior to finals beginning, we were on Easter Break, and it was a glorified extended weekend. We were given Thursday, Friday and Monday off. Judging from the fact that we attend a Jesuit institution that follows the Catholic faith, we should have the entirety of the Holy Week off, from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. It’s literally in the name of what we do and support. 

If students are given the whole week off for break, they are able to rest properly for the upcoming finals season. A sentiment I’ve heard from most of my peers is that they would appreciate a longer break, as they could spend more time with their loved ones and get away from all the mental stress that has accumulated from being at school.

I don’t think people have ever complained about having a longer break, especially when the only other significant break we had over the semester was back in March for Spring Break (which was a proper week). The only days we’ve had off were spring break, Martin Luther King Jr. Day and President’s Day, when looking at the academic calendar. So, taking into account that we’ve missed mainly Monday classes, we can afford to give students both Tuesday and Wednesday off during the Holy Week, so we can avoid more missed Monday classes.

With the extended break, students can also fix their sleep schedules (no matter how messed up they are) and live life at an acceptable pace. I remember over my Easter break, I woke up happy one day because I realized I didn’t have classes and was able to enjoy some time to myself. For students attending school in New York City, it can get pretty hectic, and paired with a school that challenges their students almost every day, I think a longer break would be appreciated by both the students and the faculty.

Let’s say you had a paper due the week you get back from break (I pray for those whose professors were malevolent enough to give work over the break), a longer break would give you more time to work on that paper and get it done without the looming stress of having to learn more content simultaneously when you go attend your classes for the week. The continued pressure of having to be in school for an extended period of time would eventually get to anyone, regardless of your major (from biology to finance, we all need our beauty rest). 

The same applies to our professors in this regard. If a professor were to make a paper due before break and the school decided to give more days during the break, they would have more time to grade, and it would not be so stress-inducing since they also need that break. I see having more days as a win-win situation. Even if we have to sacrifice a week of class, I don’t think most students have strong feelings about missing them, especially if they weren’t included in the first place.

Being the Jesuit institution that we are, I honestly would love an extra-long break. It doesn’t have to be exactly a week long, but I would love something that didn’t feel like a glorified extended weekend. If we start the break on Tuesday and end it on Friday, we would have basically the whole week off, and we’d be back in school the following Monday. That to me feels better than having a Thursday, Friday and Monday off.

Gabriel Capellan, FCRH ’28, is a journalism major from the Bronx, New York.