We made it folks, it is the second half of the school year and that means we are even closer to having the summer all to ourselves. Of course that statement is subject to change for myself and my fellow seniors. It’s time for us to freeze as we trudge to class in the harsh winter conditions of Pittsburgh, and look hopefully at our email for class cancellations. However, if you’re thinking like I am, this break may have needed an extra week.

Which brings me to my idea that this winter break should have been extended.

Do you remember in high school when we cherished those two weeks off for winter break? Well my first year of college I was ecstatic to learn that my second semester would not begin until mid-January. I had four weeks to grind my way at McDonald’s back home so I could make money to afford 7-Eleven food. In the years since my faithful freshman time, it feels like winter breaks at Point Park are getting shorter and shorter.

To be frank with you, three weeks is not enough time for us as students to recover. The holidays are almost as stressful as a college semester (almost), and this year there was not much time for us as students to recuperate from our time at school. To strengthen this argument, I don’t think our professors were given enough time to prepare for their new classes. In the first week of classes I have already had two classes canceled, and I suspect it has to do with my professors not being ready for the start of the semester.

When neither the students nor the faculty are ready to begin the semester I find it idiotic to try and rush the start of the semester. There is no sense in dragging us away from our families just to come back and find that classes may not be taking place. While I understand that our professors are not purposefully trying to cancel class, it feels like a waste of time to have us come back to school without a lot of classes being held.

There is a sense of peace while we are at home and I truly believe that many students would have an easier time at school and be able to come back as better students if we were given a longer and more fulfilling winter break.

In my three and a half years here, I have learned that people need time in order to prepare for long ordeals. A semester is a journey that needs to be prepared for so that faculty can be on point and so that students can perform to the best of their abilities.

The university has a history of ending classes in late April, much sooner than many colleges I know of. While I’m sure most of us have loved having the time off from April until August, I think we can justify having an extra week off for winter break.