33 Comments
While you’re trundling through another night of studying for this year’s exams (or have joined the lucky few who are done), let’s look ahead to the New Year. More specfically, CC ’10 VP (and potential presidential candidate) Sue Yang got in touch with Bwog about how next year’s “Study Day” conundrum is being handled.
Two options remain on the table, in slightly different format from what was proposed a few weeks ago. The first, canceling class on the last Monday of the semester, and giving students three more days to study, remains intact. The second option keeps the idea of using Sunday as an exam day, but, instead of shifting the start time back, “this would allow us to end exams on Tuesday December 22 instead of Wednesday December 23.” In short, if both were adopted:
- Classes would end on Friday the 11th.
- “Study Period” would run Saturday the 12th to Tuesday the 15th
- Exams would run from Wednesday the 16th to Tuesday the 22nd, except for the Saturday in between.
As for administration approval, Yang informed Bwog that CC Dean of Academic Affairs Kathryn Yatrakis “personally sees no issues facing these solutions,” but the steps have to be cleared by the university registrar. “Whether we can pursue one or both of these options will depend on the response received from the Registrar,” said Yang, “Ideally, we would be able to implement both.”
As for interschool cooperation, ESC president Peter Valeiras has apparently obtained SEAS administration support for both steps, and the deans have also suggested a third option: a 10pm-1am exam time slot. Bwog thinks that may be taking the whole “city that never sleeps” idea a little too far.
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33 Comments
@Friday exams esp CC and LitHum often conflict with the 1pm Friday Prayer obligatory for Muslims
The Univeristy just needs to schedule a day for make ups and establish an easy policy for rescheduling due to religious conflict. Each School/Dept/Prof should not have autonomy on this. University Senate- how about doing something w/in your mandate for once!
@RE: Fri exams the univ. senate cant’ dictate exam schedules – and probably won’t, since it’s “mandate” is to get involved with issues that affect many schools but try not to meddle with intra-school issues, like exam schedule. The law school senators shouldn’t be voting on when CC should/should not have exams nor can they dictate/vote on whether autonomy should be held in this issue since it’s already there – Pandora’s box should stay closed.
@Alum08 You nailed it. You can definitely bring up the concern to the Education Cmte., and they can try and help.
Besides that, that’s really all USenate can do with undergrad-specific exam schedules
@meh lots of schools have 1 study day. Lots of schools have 4.
Lots of schools have exams on Saturday.
Lots of schools don’t.
@Whiners I can’t believe you people are seriously bitching about a one day study day – dozens of other schools – even those in the same city – get only one “study” day – and maybe that’s b/c they spend the whole semester getting their crap together – you students need to grow a pair and just step in line and maybe do your work on time and then exams are going to be easy.
@SUNDAY SABBATH hello. we’re not all jew’s. some of us have our day of worship on Sunday. If we don’t have exams scheduled on Friday night – Saturday, you have to include Sunday in there too.
@Frontiers of Science was on Sunday this year. A lot of other universities also hold Sunday exams. They are only held in the afternoon and evening so that they do not conflict with morning worship.
@then why does this university bend over backwards to accommodate jewish holy days, but give the finger to everyone else?
@what are you talking about? I am sure if you had a religious obligation that prohibited you from taking the exam on sunday, you could take it at another time. I don’t see how they accommodate jews more than anyone else. They mostly just accommodate people who ask.
@Dear Bitter/Hostile There are about a billion Jewish holy days a year for the strictly observant. The regular professor/TA has heard of 1-2 of them, and is usually willing to accommodate none, maybe 1. However, according to school policy, which doesn’t distinguish between different religions, one cannot technically have a grade lowered for missing class due to a religious observance. It gets to count usually as 1 out of the 2 every student gets to miss before being penalized. So instead your grade is just lowered for the next missed class.
Papers are usually made to be handed in early if they cannot be handed in on time due to religious observance. If a test is missed and you have to reschedule, it can become a bureaucratic nightmare, extremely uncomfortable, and often the TA thinks you are just lazy or making excuses.
In terms of falling behind on coursework because of observance–there is zero recognition that this warrants any “special treatment.” The usual rule of thumb is more of a “sucks-for-you and well “that-was-your-decision.”
But it could just be that everyone loves the Jews and hates the rest of the world–a more plausible theory…
@weekend I don’t think it’s generally a good idea to have weekend exams. But did you ever happen to hear of the SAT? Or GRE subject tests? Or most entrance examinations for that matter? Are they all on Sunday?
@... wow, if all my exams this year were 10p-1a instead of 9a-12p, it’s possible that i would actually do well.
@yeah... I know where you’re coming from. My mind used to really wake up at around 8pm.
@again i revert to my earlier comments on how Sue Yang knows how to get shit done. Good job, Sue.
@Ggd 10-1? Whose fucking brain works that late?
@Reggie Jones Actually, between 10-1 is my optimal time for brain function. I get FIRED UP like Obama.
@caffeine castles! mmmm……
@yeah the people who whine most about how finals are so stressful are usually done within 1-2 days, or only have a couple of papers they have to hand in. Humanities kids are total lightweights, but they make most of the noise and build themselves caffeine castles in Butler.
@ummm I seem to only see non-humanities kids commenting about how humanities kids don’t have any exams or really work, not the other way around. So yeah want to rethink your theory?
Love,
A non-humanities kid
@stupid stupid stupid this is why CC alum’s are still posting on bwog…”is it just my imagine” yea, it is just your imagine
@alum yup, “alum’s” only post on bwog because they’re stupid. incisive reasoning.
@Anonymous ZING!
@CC Alum Is it just my imagine, or did we use to get a full 3 days for Reading Period?? Is this year’s new development an increase in demand for Red Bull?
@10pm-1am Hahaha that would be so epic/absurd. Imagine this: 7-10, 10-1, 9-12. I’m sure it’ll happen to at least some people.
@Yessss agreed! they should just end the classes on Friday and not have sunday exams. It won’t matter, I don’t think any of us will go to class on that Monday anyway…clearly from all these pictures on bwog and butler, the stress level is at an all time high this year. We are burned out and Columbia needs to give us a break!
@Monday class Agreed. None of us are going to go to class on that Monday anyway so they might as well cancel it.
@hmmm I don’t think stress levels are going up. I think that imagined stress levels are going up. The more people talk about how stressed they are, the more people feel the need to compare themselves, so then they buy potted plants for their study space to one-up the other guy. It’s cool when despite all the work you have to do, you can overcome it. The people with the most shit don’t complain as much, because they are actually working hard instead of updating their facebook status and taking pictures of themselves being stressed. It’s a how big is your penis contest, except instead of comparing the size of sexual extremities, they are comparing the amount of sex they aren’t having because FINALS ARE SO STRESSFUL! And not like, cause they just can’t get any.
@I don't take exams on the Lord’s Day.
@Yeah! Go, Sue, go!
@this is ridiculous canceling classes on monday makes sense. having exams on sundays doesnt… and we all know how awesome 10-1 finals are. seriously, i just dont see why columbia is married to starting after labor day. I know it would be tough to change now, but why did the administration go to such lengths so that students can move in labor day weekend? I’d rather have classes on labor day than finals on december 23rd.
@wow i cant wait to have a 10-1 final and then a 9AM final the next day. that would be so much fun
@10pm - 1am exam slot lol. that is so seas.
@Thanks Sue! Both would be the best out of a crappy situation. And thanks Sue for spending so much time on these issues when I know you are as busy with exams as the rest of us.