To Cancel Class Before Thanksgiving, or Not to Cancel, That Is The Question

By Carley Banks

This semester, Texas Tech has given students Nov. 26-28 off for Thanksgiving.

Although classes are held on only Monday and Tuesday before the holiday, some students feel it would be easier if they had the entire week off to travel home and see family.

Picture courtesy of Texas Tech University.

Morgan Zeleny, a junior energy commerce major from Cypress, Texas, said at least one of her classes gets cancelled before Thanksgiving each year.

This allows her to just get in the car and start her eight-hour drive home, she said, adding that an extra day or two with her family is important to her.

“I am really close with my family, so every minute counts,” Zeleny said.

Although some professors cancel class, others find those days vital to the course content and choose not to.

Justin Weaver, an atmospheric science instructor, said he has never cancelled class during the week of Thanksgiving.

“I find that Thanksgiving week is a good time to wrap up the administrative part of the course, with evaluations and the post-course test,” Weaver said.

He added that class attendance is generally lower on Fridays throughout the semester than the week before the holidays. He also offered some advice for students planning on skipping class this week.

“I would tell the students they should attend class as scheduled, just like every other class,” Weaver said. “In life you have to show up to your job, whether you want to or not. College is good practice for real life.”

Kevin Stoker finds that his class attendance does not change much the days before Thanksgiving.

Stoker, the senior associate dean for the College of Media & Communication, said the university sets every class date and he has always followed the schedule.

“I have a moral obligation as a professor to provide my students with the number of contact hours that they have paid for with their tuition,” Stoker said.

He also believes that some of the best material is taught in the last couple of class meetings, so skipping would not be a smart thing to do.

So to those students whose classes are cancelled, have fun and relax before finals.

And for those of you who do not get to go home until Nov. 26, or at all, let’s be thankful Christmas break is six weeks long!