Dekira Wilkerson, staff writer

This Thanksgiving, students and faculty will enjoy a full week off, replacing the traditional schedule that included in-person classes during the break’s first two days.

While the change requires asynchronous coursework on Monday and Tuesday to meet academic quality and competence standards, many see it as a positive step. In turn, Berry’s populous believes the break will improve attendance, provide additional time for travel and give both students and professors an opportunity to rest and recharge before finals.

Professor of Accounting Thomas Carnes shared his thoughts on now having the full week off for Thanksgiving unlike the usual three days that we’ve had in the past. He believes that this is a good thing, because other schools have already been doing this. Carnes also said that the two days of asynchronous classes adhere to academic guidelines.

“I think it is a good idea because everyone does it,” Carnes said. “Beyond that, we will have to make up the days somewhere because of accreditation.”

Junior biochemistry major Marcus Muriithi said that having the week off is great for students and may also help with the attendance issues on those two days in the past. Having the entire week off will benefit students who live outside of Georgia, as it is typically those students who tend to miss class the two days before Thanksgiving break.

“I think having a full week off is really good,” Muriithi said. “Professors have had attendance issues, especially with students who live out of the state.”

Carnes said the attendance issue for those two days before Thanksgiving break stems from students thinking about going home and celebrating Thanksgiving with their families.

“A lot of professors have a problem with students not showing up to class on those two days before the break,” Carnes said. “The students aren’t thinking too much about class for those days, they are thinking about going on break and spending time with their family.”

For Muriithi, the asynchronous classes are not exactly the way he imagined spending those first two days of Thanksgiving break. One of his classes will have a recorded presentation due during those two days, which feels daunting to Muriithi.

“Do I like the idea of asynchronous classes? I don’t really know,” Muriithi said. “Personally, I have a presentation that I will have to perform remotely. I am scared of that, but in general, I think having the entire week off is great and I would like to see this continue.”

Carnes said the main idea is to help students transition into the following week by not missing the content they would’ve gained.

“To make up for those two days, I will be giving out content videos that have multiple choice questions attached to them,” Carnes said. “This will help them with some of the content that would’ve been covered on those days.”

Overall, Carnes is sure that most professors will appreciate remote class time, rather than being upset over lost class time. Typically, the professors had one day off before Thanksgiving break, which would not be enough time to do all the things that are usually done during the duration of Thanksgiving week. 

“It will be nice for professors with young families to do all the things that are usually done during Thanksgiving break,” Carnes said. “Only having that one day before Thanksgiving is tough for them, and I think most of us will appreciate the slightly less class time.” 

Muriithi said he is going to use his extra time to take a moment away from school
and decompress.

“I plan to catch up on some schoolwork and self-care,” Muriithi said. “The weekend coming back, I will get the majority of work I planned on doing done.”