This Monday’s weekly Senate meeting featured Chair of the Religion Department and Professor Charles ‘Buz’ Myers’s address to the Senate body about recent calendar changes and proposals that have sparked hot debate among faculty and students alike in the past year.
Before Myers’s presentation, AnnMarie Strange was appointed as class of 2012 senator, filling the space left vacant by now-Treasurer Alex Ferraro.
Professor Myers, using a PowerPoint presentation similar to that which he used at the December 5, 2009 faculty meeting, first introduced the Senate body to the purpose of the Faculty Governance Committee (FGC), of which he is the chair. Also on the FGC are Steve Gimbel, Julie Chen, and Martin Kley.
One role of the FGC, according to Myers’ presentation and to the Faculty Handbook located on the College’s website, is “to create the academic calendar for the College taking into consideration concerns of various constituencies on campus, such as Student Senate, College Life, and the Center for Public Service.”
In this role, the FGC needs to create a calendar of two 14-week semesters, each including an equal number of each day of the week. This requirement is necessitated by labs and other courses which only meet on one day each week.
The existence of Easter break has been a constant complication to this schedule. Not having classes on Good Friday and Easter Monday has forced semester break to end on a Wednesday instead of a Monday. The Thursday gained from semester break is then turned into a Monday schedule somewhere during the semester. Because of these complications, the FGC proposed the removal of Easter break at last year’s faculty meeting.
Myers’ presentation included many reasons for this removal, including reducing scheduling complications, increasing diversity on campus, reducing student disinterest and distraction with so many breaks, and matching peer institutions. Myers provided a list of multiple peer institutions, including F&M, Dickinson, and Swarthmore, which do not have an Easter break.
However, as mentioned during the faculty meeting discussion last year and raised by students after the Senate meeting, colleges such as Muhlenberg College, St. Olaf College, Susquehanna University, and Wagner College do have an Easter break or recess in their schedules. These colleges are also part of the 40 Lutheran colleges and university represented by the Lutheran Educational Conference of North America, alongside Gettysburg. Historically Lutheran-associated, Gettysburg’s faculty pledge was also mentioned during the meeting last year. This pledge reportedly includes a pledge to uphold and respect the Lutheran history of the college.
Despite the debate at last year’s faculty meeting, Myers reported the surprisingly uniform results of the survey taken at the end of that meeting. Faculty were asked to vote on two proposals: the first was to “Remove from the academic calendar the Easter Recess, which includes Good Friday and the Monday following Easter, beginning with the 2011-2012 academic year.” Faculty were asked to vote to a) support this proposal, b) object this proposal, or c) have no preference.
According to Myers’ results 76% (86 members) voted to support the proposal, 20% (23 members) objected, and 4% (4 members) had no preference.
Though Myers did not report statistical results from the second proposal, faculty had also been asked to vote for 3 options for reallocating the two days gained by removing Easter break. Option A would move the two days to the end of semester break, Option B would use those days for Celebration and an “Advising Day,” and Option C would use a Thursday for Celebration and an additional Friday Reading Day before Spring finals.
Next year’s calendar, already posted on the College website, has classes starting on Jan. 23 (over a month after the December 17 last possible Fall final) and the last Spring finals being held on May 12. Easter Break has been removed once in the past, in 1992, but was reinstated the following year.
Myers also presented the proposal brought to the FGC by the Faculty Council proposing to reallocate the mid-week Wednesday Reading Day during finals. A vote was held by faculty in early December 2010 on the three possible options: retaining the mid-week Reading Day for Sunday through Saturday final exams, reallocating Reading Day to Sunday for Monday through Saturday final exams, or effectively removing Reading Day to create Sunday through Friday final exams. A reported 38% (51 members) of the faculty voted to retain the mid-week Reading Day, 24% (32 members) to reallocate to Sunday and 38% (52 members) to remote Reading Day.
After this tight vote, Professor DeNicola, from the Philosophy Department, informed Myers that mid-week Reading Day had first been instituted because Student Senate had proposed the idea. So, Myers decided to take the issue to the Student Senate.
Few questions were asked of Myers, and President Andrew Ferreira dismissed him from the podium. Most questions asked pertained to the reason for moving Reading Day. Myers explained that final grades are due by noon Monday and therefore final exams ending around 4:30 p.m. Saturday leave professors less than 48 hours to grade final exams and submit grades.
Once Myers left the meeting, the students went on to discuss the matters he presented. Parliamentarian Richard Aime also informed the Senate body that two resolutions would be proposed later on, addressing Senate’s support of the calendar decisions and proposals.
Senators seemed unanimous in their support of retaining mid-week Reading Day. Members commented that the day allows time to study, especially with study groups since there are fewer conflictions; reduces back-to-back finals and allows professors to offer final exams on Reading Day as an alternative to late exams or multiple tests in one day; gives a chance for Centennial Conference Championship spring sport members to study and catch up; and generally improves morale during an otherwise stressful week.
Sure enough, as Aime presented Senate Resolution 007A to support the retention of mid-week Reading Day, no roll call vote was necessary as the senate body unanimously voted in favor of the resolution.
A roll call vote was needed, however, after an intense debate about Resolution 006A, opposing the removal of Easter Break.
Senate members raised various concerns about the process by which the FGC approved this calendar change. Senator Kevin Schmitt explained that Myers presented this proposal for possibly eliminated Easter break to College Life Advisory Committee as well as, Redman confirmed, the Executive Board, each of which reportedly announced this information to the Senate. Myers did not, however, speak to the entire Senate body or poll the entire campus community. An informal Gettysburgian poll held online last year returned 50 votes: 48 for keeping Easter break and 2 for removing it.
Aime suggested the idea of a referendum to the entire student body via CNAV, especially since the topic raised such controversy among Senate members along, and because Senate members should be sure to represent their constituents. Many Senate members opposed this idea.
“I don’t think we can bring every single issue to the student body,” said Vice President Nick Redman, stressing the importance of a representative government.
Senator Caroline Dooley and Secretary Matthew Kirincic verbally agree with Redman, alluding to, and directly stating, the possible inability of the student body to make a fully informed decision on the matter.
Senators continued to weigh the pros and cons of the break removal, mentioning, in particular, the Lutheran ties of the school, the much-needed short break the recess provides to catch up on work, and the religious and personal values of being home over an important holiday. Students also mentioned the usefulness of a “warm-up lap” that the mid-week start from semester break provides, as well as the pointlessness of such a late semester start date.
Though Myers was not present at this point in the meeting, faculty members had expressed similar concerns last year. In response to their comments about student desire to visit family over the holiday, Myers had responded, “They had an entire week before to spend with their families, but Daytona Beach was more important.”
Around 8 p.m. the Senate finally decided to hold a roll call vote on Senate Resolution 6A. Voting for or against the removal of Easter Break, 16 senators and Executive Board members voted in support the removal and 15 voted against it. A similar vote on Resolution 6B to support the removal of Easter Break resulted in the same vote. Members who voted for the removal of Easter break were Vice President Nicholas Redman, Treasurer Alex Ferraro, Class of 2011 Senator Charles Meehan, Class of 2011 Senator Kevin Schmitt, Class of 2011 Senator Ellen Shupe, Class of 2011 Senator William Smith, Class of 2012 Senator Taylor Plank, Class of 2013 President and Senator Sarah Fodero, Class of 2013 Senator Kevin Lugo, Class of 2013 Senator Shruti Naik, Class of 2013 Senator Abdur Rehman, Class of 2014 Senator from Patrick Hall Patrick Hill, Class of 2014 Senator from Paul Hall Mariah Johnson, Class of 2014 Senator from Rice Hall Anthony McComiskey, Class of 2014 Senator from Huber Hall Sean Moran, and Class of 2014 Senator from Stine Hall John Price. Those who voted to keep Easter Break in the schedule were Secretary Matt Kirincic, Class of 2011 Senator Laura Block, Class of 2011 Senator Carolyn Dooley, Class of 2011 Senator Katherine Garvey-Hall, Class of 2011 Senator Victoria Shepard, Class of 2012 Senator Robert Egan, Class of 2012 Senator Caroline Nathan, Class of 2012 Senator AnnMarie Strange, Class of 2012 Senator William Weiss, Class of 2012 Senator Ryan Woodward, Class of 2013 Senator Gerard Caswell, Class of 2013 Senator David DeBor, Class of 2013 Senator Candice Lopez, Class of 2014 President and Senator Malcolm Perry, and Class of 2014 Senator from Hanson Hall Brett Stewart.
President Andrew Ferreira is not able to vote and did not veto the results of the Monday vote, but did state Wednesday, “My personal opinion is that more students should be consulted since this issue affects all students, not only one group or organization, and personally wish that Easter break be restored to the calendar for next year. Easter is not just a break; it is also a time for you to spend with family and participate in religious traditions in an atmosphere that is unique to home: something you cannot replicate at the College.”
The Senate Resolution will be sent to President Riggs, the President’s Council, Professor Myers, and Professor Jean Fletcher of Economics. The President’s Council still needs to approve the calendar before it is official.
I will be clarifying in an article this week’s Gettysburgian that the votes mentioned above are not “for or against the removal of Easter break” as stated, but more precisely “for or against supporting the administration’s removal of Easter break.” Those above who I noted voted “for the removal of Easter break” were voting for a resolution to support the administration’s decision to remove Easter break. Those I noted voted “against the removal of Easter break” were voting against a resolution to support the administration’s decision to remove Easter break.
I feel that Professor Myers’ claim that Spring Break is a wasted opportunity to spend time with family is irrelevant. Spring Break is not a holiday, neither secular nor religious. Although it could be used as an opportunity to spend time with family, many of us use it to connect with students from other colleges or are required to spend that time with our athletic teams. Easter is a chance for everyone to spend time with family and to honor a long-standing religious institution. If this break is removed, many of the students of Gettysburg College are stripped of this opportunity. I for one will be going home regardless of of the final decision. Easter is an important tradition in my family, and one I have no intention of missing in the years to come.