For many students, Thanksgiving break is a time to be with their families. It is the quintessential American holiday. The problem is that the day before Thanksgiving the university requires professors to hold classes. Year after year student complaints emerge regarding this issue, and yet nothing is done.

For a university that prides itself in having students and staff from all over the world, from all 50 states and over 108 countries, it is hard to believe the administration will not allow students a day to travel home to see their loved ones.

This leaves students with the dilemma. They can either stay in Madison for classes and miss out on family celebrations or make it home in time to join in on the Thanksgiving festivities, only to miss important lecture material.

Students should not be forced to make this decision. Would it really negatively affect the university to be more flexible in this debate?

State law requires classes to be held on a minimum number of days each year. We are at that minimum. The university should follow the lead of UW-Stout and create a schedule that will allow students to have Wednesday off. One option would be to give students the whole week off, creating a fall break, similar to other universities. This could occur and all the university would need to do is add three more days of classes at the end of the year or cut the month-long winter break by three days.

Students and their parents often make considerable sacrifices to attend UW. The university must have some compassion when those students and parents want to spend a few days together during one of this country’s finest holidays.