A fall reading week? No thanks

So I've decided to post here first, to lay out the argument, feel it out a bit. So kill me if I'm doing injustice.

A fall reading week would probably mean a much needed break to a large portion of the student body. Sounds perfect, except for the fact it's going to mess with the already time-crunched fall semester, leaving class either until Dec 24th, or starting Sept 7th--or both. Also on the plus side, having a fall reading week would allow for some students to spend a week at home with family or friends; seeing grandma and grandpa is just so awesome that so many of us are fighting for that extra week a year to do so...right?

Sounds ridiculous to me, as someone who can't afford a trip home and didn't have much of a Christmas to begin with thanks to our exam schedule this year. I've got low expectations of the university to give us MORE time off, since having a week and a half for Christmas holidays seemed to be hard enough to ask for.

Another valid point would be that having a fall reading week reduces the suicide rates and amount of reported instances of anxiety and panic amongst the student body. I'll tell you right now, that those students with these issues deserve to have their concerns heard and that the university might as well offer a reading week on the basis of these concerns alone. Since this is a legitimate issue, it's hard to deny a reading week in the fall is something in Laurier's future. The reason why I'm dubbing it useless is for the obvious reason that most students will take full advantage of the week off to drink and/or sleep. I don't blame them, but I think it's time that could be used more productively.

It is that other side of the coin, the students who don't use a reading week to read at all--these are the people who take the trips down south, who travel or basically waste away a week intended to catch up and prepare for midterms. There is also the very important issue of where the extra time would come from: Laurier's fall semester is already tight--cutting days from O-week and making the exam period longer would be two ways to make the reading week fit. As a school that is valued for its dedication to first year students and making them feel a part of the Laurier family, I would feel ashamed for taking away from that experience.

The fall semester can be tough, yes: adjusting from the summer high is hard, and managing your time is a little difficult. But, it is all part of the university experience, and by fourth year you get the hang of it, and you learn to know when to ask for help. A reading week, for the purposes of academic survival, is simply not pragmatic in the fall term.