A traditional hiatus for students has been cut in half by the University breaking up fall break into one day off Oct. 29 and another day off on Nov. 18. This change has brought differences in opinions from UA students.
Some students have often utilized fall break as an opportunity to return home and to spend time with family and friends. With this new change, many students from other states have lost travel time, Kellie Hoyt said.
Hoyt, a sophomore majoring in accounting, said her 10-hour drive to North Carolina is something that warrants more than a three-day vacation.
“Last year with the two-day fall break being together, I was able to go home and spend time with my family both days,” Hoyt said. “But now the Thursday fall break is almost useless to me because I can’t go home when we have class on Friday.”
J.J. Fadely, a junior majoring in communication studies, said having class on Friday Nov. 19 is going to be difficult. As a member of the Million Dollar Band color guard, she said going to class after performing at a night game will be challenging.
“I think it would be better if we did have class on Thursday and were off on Friday,” Fadely said.
By having the second day of fall break on Friday Nov. 19, she said, students who do live out of state could go home for the weekend.
“If one of the big issues with splitting fall break is a lack of opportunity to go home, then moving the break from the day of the Georgia State game to the day after could give students another opportunity to go home,” Fadely said.
Other students who live closer to the University do not have to plan travel so closely. Shan Nazeer, a junior majoring in finance, said the one day break this upcoming weekend will not inconvenience him as much as those students who come from other states.
“Being from Birmingham, going home doesn’t have to involve a lot of planning,” Nazeer said. “I can see how a student who does have to plan to go home and buy a plane ticket would be inconvenienced by dividing the break.”
He said that freshman students might not feel any change since they were not at UA last year to experience the consecutive two-day fall break.
Ashley Henderson, a freshman majoring in education, said she is looking forward to fall break being split up.
“I think it’s going to be really nice to have the day of the Georgia State game off,” she said.
She said that because she is a Tuscaloosa native, going home would not be affected by either fall break schedule. “I am just glad not to have to go to school two days,” she said.
Dylan Montgomery, a freshman majoring in mechanical engineering, said that whether together or separate, the two-day break will be a welcome one.
“I plan on going to the game so it is way more convenient that we don’t have to go to class so we can all tailgate before the game,” Montgomery said.
Samantha Greenberg, a sophomore majoring in biology, said that while tailgating before the game will be nice, the break day only being Friday Oct. 29 will make her flying home not worth the trip.
“The flight to Maryland for three days won’t be worth it,” she said. “With only a three-day weekend instead of a four-day weekend, there is no point in me flying home since two of the three days I will be travelling.”
