The Dead Week proposal is not an attempt to avoid the hard work or challenges of the real world; it is an attempt to keep demands within reason. I know many people in the working world who are applauded for dedication but are never taxed as heavily as many students. My father never calls from the office saying, “I’m not coming home because I won’t be sleeping tonight; I have three projects and six exams this week.”

I have been encouraged to take on only the work that I can complete with excellence — to do otherwise is irresponsible. Of course, while this is the advice of many a professor, it is not always the practice.

Professor Zook’s comment that “Some classes need that extra week to fit in projects and papers” reads to me as, “Some professors fail to assign work reasonably throughout the semester, so they have to cram everything at the end.” Professors would do well to ask, “What is the quality of learning during Dead Week? What is its cost?”

Why are we creating a culture that lauds exorbitant sacrifice for the completion of work that will be forgotten moments after submittal? As a student, I have sacrificed friends, family and health to work an average of 12 hours a day on academics. Those opposed to this resolution look at my efforts and say, “It’s not enough.”

I am not asking for shelter from all challenges; I just want a little room to live.

Travis Watters

civil engineering senior