Handling Our Crazy Fall Semester Schedule

How students and professors are dealing with days off and rescheduled classes the first few weeks of school by Kema CarwinA new school year had begun, and with it comes the expected--a new schedule, new adjustments and the not so new “vacation brain” that lingers at the beginning of each semester. One unfamiliar adaption: the strange holiday calendar that is throwing off the first few weeks of the fall semester for many. “The confusing schedule has taken a toll on my most important classes,” says Edith Perez, a 21-year-old City College junior. “It has given me less time to adjust completely to the environment.”Like Perez, many students noticed the change. It’s not unusual to begin the semester before the Labor Day holiday, but it is bizarre to have all the Jewish holidays so quickly in the new year.On Thursday, September 10th, students will follow a Monday schedule to make up for missing classes in the following week. Rosh Hashanah falls at the start of the week beginning on September 13th. Tuesday classes will be made up on September 25th. And CUNY holds no classes on September 22nd and 23rd for Yom Kippur.Many Jewish students appreciate this year’s schedule. “Well, I like having off for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur,” says 21 year old, City College junior, Rebecca Bergman. “I’m Jewish and they’re important holidays in the religion.”In reality, in comparison to fall 2014, the amount of days off hasn’t changed; the difference is when those days actually happen. Last year, Rosh Hashanah fell on a Thursday and Friday while Yom Kippur occurred the first weekend and Monday in October. The majority of CCNY students do not have classes on Fridays or the weekends which allowed them to end up fairly unaffected. This year, however, proves different.“It can definitely be troublesome for students that have to work,” says Justin Carter, a 22-year-old City College senior. “Making up classes can force an absence and that can be problematic for grades.”While some struggle to incorporate the new calendar into their schedules, others revel in the idea. “My professors are awesome and humane. They realize people set their schedule on certain days, that we have obligations,” says Saroya Norris, a City College senior. “So, I do not care.”