Class extension wrong

4/17/08 7:00pm

Recently, the seniors in Mechanical Engineering 408: Capstone Design Project II discovered that the Office of the Registrar had granted their professor special permission to extend the class' meeting period to May 5, five days after the end of the senior exam period (see story, page 4). While their classmates will be using the 10-day break between finals and graduation to travel, see friends and family or otherwise relax, the seniors in this class will be working as usual, even though sentiment for extending the class dates was far from unanimous.However many students wanted the extension, it is hardly fair to those who did not to mandate a lengthening of the academic semester, especially since the academic calendars have already been set for a number of years. Just as students bound to work within the confines of the academic calendar, our professors should be, too, especially if the schedule change has the potential to cause problems for grade submission, diploma checks and previously set travel plans. And just as it would be absurd for a professor to require a class to meet a week before the first day of classes, it is no less ridiculous for a professor to require a class to stay a week after the last day.

Rice students do not mind working. We go to class and we get our assignments done. All we ask is for the right to take a break when the academic calendar says we can. The rules are for everyone, students and faculty alike, and they should be applied with parity.

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