The third Monday of every February is Presidents Day, a day which usually sees banks, post offices and government agencies closed. But what’s not closed on President’s Day? Colleges. While most public schools are closed for the holiday (according to CNN), most colleges (including this one) are still open.
The celebration of Presidents Day appears to be on a state-by-state basis. In Arkansas, the holiday is listed on government websites as “Washington’s Birthday,” though Arkansas is not one of the states that officially celebrates the holiday. The states that officially celebrate Presidents Day are Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.
I could not find an explanation online for why Arkansas does not officially celebrate Presidents Day, though the day is also listed as “Daisy Gatson Bates Day.” Arkansas State University does not list the day on their academic calendar for 2019-2020, though they did list it as a public holiday in 2019.
So, why do I think we should have Presidents Day off at A-State? Two reasons. First, because we do not have any breaks in the spring between Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Spring Break. Fall Semester 2019 had Labor Day, which happened 14 days into the semester, and Thanksgiving Break, which happened 98 days into the semester. The Fall Semester is 112 days long, not including finals.
Spring Semester, meanwhile, has MLK Day seven days into the semester and Spring Break 70 days into the semester. The Spring Semester is also 112 days long not including finals. While it may seem like Spring Semester gets the better end of the stick, since the Fall Semester breaks happen 84 days apart while the Spring Semester breaks happen 63 days apart, the break between Spring Semester breaks seems longer because MLK Day is so early into the semester.
Second, and more personally, because having an extra break in the middle of the semester would help to avoid burnout in students. In Arkansas, the Spring Semester happens during a time when the weather is mostly grey and wet and cold for a long amount of time, which can contribute to burnout.
According to a study by Helen Jane Orzel of San Jose State University, burnout is “characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and lack of personal accomplishment.” Burnout can be alleviated primarily with sleep, a big plus for three-day weekends, which is what Presidents Day would be if A-State celebrated the holiday.
Do I really just want an extra three-day weekend to sleep? Yes. Absolutely. 100%. But I’m sure that if I polled A-State’s student body, many of them would agree with me. Give us the extra break we need to make it through the Spring Semester and make our lives just a little bit easier.
Categories: Opinion
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