Many college students, including myself, look forward to time off from school that allows us to go home, see family, blow off some steam and catch up on school work as it piles up during the semester. However, unlike other schools across the country, Fordham University does not have a fall break.
Although Fordham gives students days off on federal holidays, there simply is not enough time for many students to make plans to visit family or take trips anywhere on a three-day weekend. Instead, parents, mine included, are seemingly forced to take a trip to New York City in order to see their kids before Thanksgiving break.
Universities that have implemented a fall break include the University of Notre Dame, the College of William and Mary and the University of Virginia. William and Mary’s fall break includes a four-day weekend that starts on Thursday of the selected week. UVA reserves three days in the middle of the week called “fall reading days,” which are meant to encourage students to catch up on any work they are behind on. Lastly, Notre Dame has a week-long break dedicated specifically to midterm exams.
Notre Dame hits the nail on the head with its week-long “mid-term break” allowing students to focus on nothing but tests and assignments at hand and additionally giving students a few days off after stressful test days. I would much rather see Fordham implement a plan like this instead of giving students petty three-day weekends here and there. Although an extra day off on the weekend is always welcome, there is simply not enough time for students to go home, catch up on work or take a trip to a place of their choice.
I believe that Fordham’s student body would greatly benefit from a week-long midterm break. The break would allow students to adequately prepare for upcoming exams and papers that take up large amounts of time. In addition, it would give students a much-needed mental break from the stress of college. When students are given time to digest their heavy workload and prioritize their mental health and physical well-being, college becomes much easier. For me, seeing family and friends back home allows me to recharge and remind myself that there is much more to life than just school and a test or paper grade.
Moving forward, I would like to see Fordham prioritize the well-being of their students by implementing a fall break. There are several ways to do this. The first could simply entail a four-day weekend prior to midterm exams, giving students time to study, write papers and work on projects without the added stress of class. The second strategy could entail a similar plan to that of UVA. Three days during the middle of the week designed for students to catch up on reading, projects and studying that can also be used to visit family and friends would be extremely popular among Fordham students. Furthermore, it would show that Fordham is prioritizing academic success among their student body.
I still believe the most popular and beneficial strategy Fordham could implement is a week-long midterm break like that of Notre Dame. A full week dedicated to exams and papers would alleviate tremendous amounts of stress for Fordham students. Students would be able to visit family and friends, catch up on sleep, take trips and maybe attend a concert or sporting event to reward themselves for a hard-fought semester. Although Fordham does give students federal holidays off and that is more than can be said of some institutions, there is still no break during the fall semester that is dedicated to midterm exams.
In the future, I would like to see Fordham implement one of these three strategies or come up with something similar that is meant to encourage academic success among students. Federal holidays and three-day weekends simply do not serve justice to the hard-working students of Fordham. It is time for Fordham to start prioritizing their students’ well-being, academic success and obligation to Fordham families by allowing students to visit home more often.
Jacob Wolfer, FCRH ’26, is an English and history double major from Fairfax, Va.
