The end of the semester is getting closer. This is easily recognizable by our professors scrambling to complete the syllabi they were overly ambitious in completing by the end of April.

We understand that Pittsburgh weather can be unpredictable, with snow falling on the first day of spring and a warm 60 degree week in February. However, when classes are canceled because of an unseen snow apocalypse and the syllabi is briefly tossed out the window, adjustments should be made.

This lack of adjustments causes a mad rush in the last four weeks of the semester. When this happens across multiple classes, it can easily spell disaster for students. Having several demanding final assignments to finish at once can make students feel like as though they are precariously balancing on a tightrope. One extra due date could send them tumbling through the air, grasping for a helping hand and finding none.

In addition to this cluster of assignments, the spring semester brings extra stress for students who are waiting to hear back from internships they’ve applied for through the summer. A few of us here at The Globe are still waiting in limbo while trying to get through the jumbled mess of assignments that were meant to be finished earlier in the semester.

We want to make this clear – we aren’t asking our professors to cut chunks out of the curriculum. We are fully aware that finals week will always be a stressful time. If anything, we are just asking that if classes are canceled, or we get behind schedule, please make adjustments instead of cramming an impossible amount of assignments in at the end, or use alternative methods of holding class.

Schoology and Blackboard can allow for a great message board discussion and some of our professors have already taken advantage of these learning outlets, and we applaud them for doing so.

More than anything, we are asking for a pinch of sympathy. Panic attacks and complete apathy have been rampant on campus earlier than usual, making it even more difficult to finish the semester strongly – something we all want desperately to do.