Calling all McGill University students, faculty members, and alumnae to action:
We’ve established in my latest blog post that McGill University is not planning on implementing a fall reading week—anytime soon. However, what if together, as a student body, we were able to convince the administration to improve our current Winter Reading Week? I urge all McGill students, faculty members, and alumnae, to sign this petition to ban professors from assigning exams, quizzes, or papers following the first three days after the Winter reading week.
Students bend over backwards trying to maintain a decent GPA, complete assignments on time, and keep their heads above water during midterm and final season. This struggle doesn’t stop just because they have a week off in March. In fact, many students complain that during and following their reading week, they are still overwhelmed with stress—perhaps even more so. Mainly, because they are obliged to keep doing school work in preparation for exams that are scheduled immediately after they return. This defeats the purpose of having a break, which is made to reduce anxiety.
McGill University is one of the most competitive and demanding schools in all of Canada. Unfortunately, this status comes with the ultimate price: poor mental health services. By banning professors from assigning work on the first three days after reading week, this will allow students to truly have a break and relax. Additionally, most classes are scheduled on either Monday and Wednesday or Tuesday and Thursdays or Wednesday and Fridays. The three day policy will allow students to ease back into their classes, give them a chance to review for upcoming exams, and give them time go to professors office hours for clarifications. Hopefully, this new policy will reduce the ideation of suicide, exhaustion, immense anxiety, the trauma students associate with their academic issues reported by the Canadian Association of College and University Student Services.
As social media reminds us, of course there are still students that go on vacation and don’t take this week to catch up on assigned readings or study for upcoming exams, but that’s how it should be for everyone! Not just the select few that got lucky enough that their professors assigned exams prior to reading week or later on in the semester. There are 13 weeks in a semester, how hard can it be for profs to rearrange their schedule to accommodate their students mental health?
Please sign this petition if you feel the same way! Together we can, and will make a change!
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