Hamilton encourages students to enjoy the learning process and to get the most out of our education. Yet, the exam week schedule points to something different. After classes end, we are given the weekend and one day as a reading period. The fall school calendar shows the weekend and two full days as our reading period, while in reality there actually are exams scheduled for Tuesday night. Additionally, students who take exams within the same concentration (which is necessary for a student to complete their major) oftentimes must take an exam on a Monday night due to scheduling issues, thereby shortening the already- compressed reading period.
Thus, many are left to study for all four of their courses within a weekend period. It should therefore come as no surprise to administrators and teachers that students pulled all-nighters, or, more commonly, do not exercise, do not sleep enough, and don’t eat right. Even without stress as a factor, lack of food and sleep compromise students’ health in a significant way. Many students feel hopeless during this time period, and they do not feel like they have enough time to get help for stress or meet their basic needs. With the increased focus from students and the administration on mental health, I think that this is an opportunity to suggest the extension of the reading period.
Logistically, I realize that courses often utilize the final days of the semester to teach material and that there are no spare days in the current schedule. Perhaps our two-week Spring Break could be shortened to allow students more time to breathe during final exams. I know that many students would initially protest having their break shortened, but I am confident that in the long-run, it would be the best thing for them. I am also confident that many students would be in support.
Many courses test on big picture concepts — essay questions that ask you to analyze the concepts of the course as a whole or problems that incorporate many different skills learned. To see the big picture takes a deeper understanding, and it takes a longer time to study for such examinations. Whilst trying to study for four exams at once, such a level of understanding is not possible. This does not even factor in lab practical examinations, final performances, videos, podcasts etc.
So, in order to get more studying and crucial content retention during this critical time, many rely on artificial stimulates. Drinking copious amounts of coffee is a normal occurrence during finals week. Last semester when Commons was out of coffee during finals I saw many groups of people start to panic. People try to push past their natural limits of attentiveness — but the limits are there for a reason. Slamming your body with copious amounts of caffeine has serious, and possibly fatal, health risks.
Abusing caffeine is not the only instance of students trying to get an extra boost while studying. The use of non-prescribed ADHD drugs is also commonplace. While these are supposed to be used to “level the playing ground” for students with learning disabilities, they end up giving an advantage to students who do not need it: students’ whose brains are physically capable of focusing. Another consequence is that some may experience worsening anxiety as a result of the added stimulants.
The detriments to one’s physical health aside, there are tolls on mental health as well. The culture of excellence and perfectionism is already high enough on this campus, and the added pressure of an almost non-existent reading period and a short finals week doubles the atmosphere of stress. People feed off of each other’s stress. There is virtually no downtime during finals, so the stress atmosphere keeps rising, making it so your body releases hormones like adrenaline and changes the focus of your immune system. Biological factors and sociocultural factors combine to create a recipe for disaster and for burnout. This incredibly important time in the year is one of the most difficult ones, and sometimes it can seem like students are not prepared or afforded the time to prepare that they should be. When finals end and someone hits a “wall,” they can get sick. In fact, many people get sick because their body has been so focused on the stress that other infections have been let in.
At the end of finals, students must have vacated and cleaned their dorms within 24 hours. With the added feeling of exhaustion and sometimes sick- ness after exams, this can create a new wave of stress. It’s hard to pack up, especially if you are moving out of your room completely. It also doesn’t allow you much time at all for relaxation or goodbyes to friends. The lack of breathing room makes the culimination of an already stressful and exhausting week even more arduous.
In general, this issue is much more prevalent in the Spring Semester than in the Fall Semester, as at the end of the fall students do not have to dismantle their rooms, pack all of their belongings, say goodbye to dear friends, and try and prepare to do well on four or more exams. The issue of moving out for the summer is a serious one. A small contingent of students can pack their belongings in their car and drive home, but for those students who lives thousands of miles away the packing process is an arduous one. The options for these students are to pack for break a week ahead of time or to attempt to fully pack everything at the last minute. For a better atmosphere on campus, as well as for the better physical and mental health of the student body, there needs to be a longer reading period.
