As college students, we have mourned that we have no fall break, like many of us had while we were in high school. It was during this time we could let our hair down and let our brains take a mental vacation.
But in a surprise turn of events, the University has decided to institute a fall break, among other changes to the academic calendar. Starting in the fall of 2012, there will be a two-day fall break in mid-October. Students will get a Monday and Tuesday off, making for a four-day weekend.
While there are other facts surrounding the reorganization of the academic calendar, let’s face it — the fact that we have a fall break is the most important.
Two days off may not seem like a lot of time, but this break is a student’s dream come true because it gives us at least one day off in every month of the fall semester.
Of course we have Labor Day, which is held on the first Monday of September. In October, students now have this newfound freedom of fall break.
In November we get a double dose of freedom. We have Veteran’s Day, which is on Nov. 11, and Thanksgiving at the end of the month. Then December brings the much-anticipated winter break.
With all this time on our hands, we here at The State Press have come up with a list of things to do while we have time off.
Take a trip to Calgary. Many students head south to Cancun, Mexico, during spring break. We figured it was time to spread the love to our northern neighbor. Go north in the fall and south in the spring. This campus will be full of world travelers.
Pretend like Arizona has seasons. While a trip north would let you see snow or falling leaves, this is always the alternative if you can’t make it to Canada. We can sit outside and pretend to watch the leaves change color and fall from the trees. In reality though, our time would probably be better spent tanning by the pool at the SRC so we can make our friends in Calgary jealous.
Travel to Sedona… twice. We have such an amazing state and can see so much. The red rocks of Sedona are so enticing that you will need to travel there twice. Luckily, it’s only a short drive away. It can be a day trip or a camping trip.
Take the chairlift up to the top at Snowbowl. If Sedona isn’t your cup of tea, you can always head a little farther north and visit Flagstaff. When you are there, you can take the chairlift at Snowbowl to the top of the mountain. Just don’t try snowboarding down. Chances are there will not be snow and we really don’t feel like reporting anymore horrible events than necessary.
Catch up on all your State Press reading. With no papers to write or tests to study for, there is no excuse for not catching up on all your State Press reading you missed. Chances are you probably are almost caught up since you always read the paper in class anyway. Let’s face it. This is ASU’s only required reading; the rest is optional.
Do anything but study. We all fought for a fall break so we could do everything but study. Things that were runners up on our fall break activities list were underwater basket weaving and knitting, among others. Let’s just hope professors don’t see the four-day weekend as a chance to do a week’s worth of homework.
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