Oxford Stories Video: Some Say UM’s Fall Break Is Too Long

Does a six week break do more damage than good?

Christmas and Thanksgiving are holidays celebrated throughout every SEC school by allowing the students to take time off. Most colleges refer to this time off as a winter or fall “break.”
Students, teachers and staff members enjoy time away from academics and the college atmosphere in their own ways. The longest break in an academic school year is often during the winter or summer season.

During the fall semester, most colleges provide students with a fall break, Thanksgiving break and Christmas break. Most colleges within the SEC allow students to have a three to four week leave from school for Christmas, such as the University of Tennessee, University of Georgia, University of Arkansas and many others.
According to the University of Mississippi’s academic calendar, students are given a six-week break for the holiday season. Although the students at the University of Mississippi are not allowed a fall break, they spend more time out of school over Christmas than any other SEC school.
While many students look at this time away as an advantage, others see it as a concern. Spending such a lengthy period of time away from school forces the students to learn more information in a shorter amount of time, causing some to stress more and forget information.
UM student Megan Pinion said, “Six weeks makes it harder to get acclimated after such a long time.”
The University of Mississippi offers classes during breaks, such as summer and winter intercessions to helps students who want to raise their grade or do no want to spend time at home any longer.
“Sometimes I prefer to do winter intercession because being at home for six weeks is too long, and I am ready to get back to school,” Pinion said. 

Students who attend the University of Mississippi have a break that is almost 20 days longer than any other SEC school, but they are released for summer break around the same time as the other universities, proving they have less time to learn the curriculum.
Many students have not recognized the University of Mississippi as having the longest Christmas/winter break out of all the schools in the SEC, so they do not see how it potentially could affect their academics.

---

By Mikael Odum
Read more stories like this on Oxford Stories.
For questions or comments, email hottytoddynews@gmail.com.