Many students like myself only get to see their families once during a semester — over Thanksgiving — and we would like to spend time with our families when we get that chance. But Hillsdale College’s Thanksgiving break often falls directly before “hell week,” the last full week of classes and the time when final papers are due. This means most students have to spend their “break” working on homework and projects instead of being with family. We fly home for Thanksgiving, worry about school for all four days, return to the two worst weeks of the semester, and go back home after just 14 days.
Hillsdale College should start the semester earlier so we can actually take a break come Thanksgiving. Rather than enduring the summer heat of Georgia for a few extra weeks in August, I would prefer to get the stress of finals out of the way early so I can spend time with my family during the holidays.
While my family plays board games and consumes massive amounts of cheese, I spend hours working on the projects my professors assign over break. I would like to emerge from my room long enough to say hello to my siblings and hug my extremely chubby cat, but I have to hide behind piles of homework to prepare for the coming storm.
If we were sent home for the semester at Thanksgiving, we could all actually enjoy the time we have with our families. We wouldn’t have to worry about grades, or projects, or taking too much time off. We could actually see our families without the added pressure of exams looming on the horizon.
Although we’ve already started the semester at the usual time, we could still stay home after Thanksgiving break. Yes, this would mean we’d end up missing several end-of-the-year events. But really, do we actually think those would happen?
We’ve been relatively sheltered from COVID-19 in our Hillsdale health bubble, but we will all be venturing out into the germ-filled unknown for Thanksgiving break. Many states are starting to see a spike in cases, and the United States had its highest number of cases ever last week.
When we leave Hillsdale for break, the likelihood is that at least some of us will contract the coronavirus. Like earlier in the semester, the college will probably shut down most events to stop the spread, and we will essentially live in isolation for two weeks before going home to spread the disease to our families.
Most other colleges conducting in-person classes have chosen to send students home permanently after break to limit the spread. If we come back to Hillsdale after break, many of us could contract the coronavirus and spread it to our families unwittingly. We can prevent this by going home early and finishing remotely this semester.
This semester could act like the trial run for future semesters. While future fall semesters wouldn’t end with remote learning, we could get a taste of more time with family. Even if this experiment ends in a disaster, we would still be keeping our professors, friends, and family safe. Thanksgiving break should be about family and being thankful, not having to spend a lot of time on papers and exam study.
Strength may rejoice in the challenge, but even the strongest need rest to recover. Life has challenges, but we shouldn’t focus solely on those challenges. Part of the richness of life comes from building meaningful relationships with others, and we should all be able to enjoy those relationships when we have the chance.
Lillian Tweten is a sophomore studying politics.