On November 4 to 6 all full time students at the University of Waterloo will have the opportunity to vote in a referendum asking the following question: “Should classes start on the first Thursday after Labour Day in order to allow for two additional days off in the Fall term?” So, before beginning my point on why I believe everybody should vote “yes” to the above proposition, it should be made clear that students are not necessarily voting on the institution of a full reading week. Instead, what would likely be instituted is a quasi-reading week, with a couple days added close to Thanksgiving to give students a bit of a breather (likely a five day break). Although a full reading week would, in my opinion, be preferable to this, it would still be a welcome break for all of us students who face a stressful academic schedule in a time in our lives where mental health problems tend to be most prevalent.
Being somebody with some personal mental health issues—which can be quite debilitating at times—the issue of a fall reading week hits a nerve. Most undergraduate students are at an age where mental health illness, whether it be more serious maladies such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, or more minor, but still draining conditions such as anxiety, OCD or mild depression, begin to present themselves. I want to make it clear that I am not here to advocate that a couple extra days off can present a cure for any of these disorders. Mending these problems takes serious commitment to self-recovery, often with the aid of counselling and medication. That being said, I can speak from personal experience that time off, however short, can provide a major relief when these disorders are at their worst. Not only does it provide time to unwind and address these issues with family and friends, it provides a light at the end of what can be a very dark tunnel. During my summer work term, I strongly believe that taking a medical leave from work for a week saved me from a summer of much greater suffering, and gave me time to develop a plan of attack to deal with my own mental health issues. Unfortunately, such academic leaves are not possible simply because a week off can mean missing deadlines or midterms, which despite efforts on the part of the University and professors, can be very difficult to deal with. It is a shame that so many students fail terms, or feel obliged to withdraw, because they have no time to deal with their issues. I believe that an extended break could prevent many of these unnecessary and counterproductive occurrences.
Not only would reading week provide a much needed break for people with more chronic mental health issues; it is also worth speaking about the benefit a quasi-reading week has on the majority of people who have no experience of recurring mental illness. School is stressful. Every term we are bombarded with exams, interviews, projects, and sometimes also feel the burden of extra-curricular activities, all while trying to maintain some semblance of a social life. I know I have experienced many moments when I just wanted to escape, even if for only a couple days, from these high stress periods and just take a breath. I am sure many of you readers feel the same way. An extended break would allow for such a breather, a time when we could study in moderation, relax, maybe go on a trip, and most of all get away from the stress cooker that university can be. We could then return to our studies as well rested and more productive students.
One advantage of this extended break would also be how strongly it would impact first year students, many of whom are experiencing tumult and stress that they have never before experienced in their lives. Suddenly burdened not only with the challenges of academia, but also with everyday trials of independence which had previously been performed by their parents, first year students face a high risk of homesickness, overwhelming stress and, quite frankly, fear. On top of all this, many first years are only 17 years old when they enter this environment. This fall quasi reading week would provide first years with a milestone they could work towards, in which they could go home and unwind with family and old friends, and get to experience the some stabilizing forces that often become so absent in University. I believe that this could greatly lower first year dropouts and lesson the fear factor for first years entering a challenging new environment.
There are many arguments against the institution of this quasi-reading week, some of which can be countered, while some just have to be weighed against the benefits. The most major of these is that Orientation Week would have to be cut short, and students would have to start the term two days earlier. This is an inconvenience, especially for us Engineers, many of whom would have to sacrifice part of their only full week off before starting school after a work term. That being said, most of us understand that the first week of class, in particular the first two days, are generally syllabus overviews and review which can easily be caught up on it if one wishes to miss the first two days to preserve that week off. For the more studious of us who would not skip class, I would simply say that it is a pretty paltry price in comparison to stronger mental health and a much needed midterm break. As for the shortened Orientation Week, it would affect only first years and those of us who volunteer to help out. I have already spoken on the benefits this would hold for first years, which I think far outweighs the downside of a shortened O-week. As for O-week leaders, the experience is supposed to be about helping first years, so if that is truly their interest, then they should be willing to sacrifice a couple of days to help the group of students the event is designed for.
An article in the Toronto Star last fall stated that 11 of 20 Ontario Universities have some kind of fall reading week. I know that this fall Laurier instituted its own entire week off, despite its already stretched resources and cramped schedule. The fact that this University has not followed suit dumbfounds me. Us students, whether we like to admit or not, are at a vulnerable time in our lives. We are entering adulthood and our lives are becoming our own. University needs to be challenging for us, but it also needs to be manageable. Fall reading week would be good for all of us, it can provide mentally sound students with a break so that they return as their most productive selves, and for those of us at the brink, it can provide us with a chance to take a breath and, in many cases, formulate a plan to help ourselves. A couple days off midterm, whatever the cost may be, is a small price to pay for our mental health and our happiness.
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