UC Council of Presidents to request for student input on shortened winter break

A group of University of California student body presidents plan to ask the UC to consider student input in setting the academic calendar and reinstate a three-week winter break in the 2014-2015 school year.

The shortened break is largely unpopular among students and more than 28,000 people have signed a petition against the change.

The University will not reinstate the longer break because the calendar change is the result of an already established UC policy, said Brooke Converse, a UC spokeswoman.

The policy, enacted in 2007, states that move-in dates should not conflict with major religious holidays. This year, Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, coincides with move-in dates on UC campuses that use the quarter system. To accommodate the holiday, the 2014 fall quarter will begin Sept. 29 and take a week away from winter break, for one year only.

The UC Council of Presidents, composed of graduate and undergraduate student body presidents from the 10 UC campuses and UC Hastings College of Law, intends to send a letter to UC President Janet Napolitano in hopes of convincing the University to take student input into account about the calendar change. It affects all campuses on the quarter system, including UCLA.

“We want to have a discussion with (UC Provost Aimée Dorr) and convince her that students should be more involved in decisions like this,” said John Joanino, president of the Undergraduate Students Association Council at UCLA and member of the presidents council.

The presidents are concerned about the absence of student input in enforcing the calendar policy, which has caused discontent across the UC, Joanino said. They also hope to discuss alternatives to the upcoming two-week winter break. Joanino said the council does not have any specific alternatives in mind, but that before they can consider alternatives, they have to be included in the discussion.

A student-led Change.org petition currently circulating calls on the UC to reinstate the three-week winter break. As of Sunday afternoon, it had about 28,000 signatures, emphasizing students’ need for three weeks of relaxation and de-stressing after a strenuous quarter.

Converse said the University takes seriously the petitions it receives from students. However, there is no chance to change the calendar for next yearbecause it would disrupt faculty and officials’ conferences, travel and family events planned far in advance, she added.

Joanino said the presidents are concerned that a two-week break will limit family time for students, especially international students who may not be able to fly home for such a short period. He added he thinks student concerns have also caused students to blame other students for the break – particularly Jewish students.

He does not know if a calendar change is possible, but said he hopes to get the opportunity to discuss the possibility of alternatives with UC officials.

Academic calendars are set several years in advance. The calendars for many years in the future, up until 2017-2018, are already posted online.

There are many factors that dictate the calendar, and options to keep a longer winter break were limited, Converse said.

“(Making a calendar) is a pretty extensive process; there are a lot of policies that come into consideration,” she said.

There is a set number of days of instruction in an academic year, so the third week of winter break could only come by pushing winter quarter back, Converse said. This would disrupt finals schedules by putting Cesar Chavez Day, a state holiday, on the Friday of finals week for winter quarter, she said.

Officials also said they cannot shift both winter and spring quarter back one week to extend winter break. If the year ended a week later, the following year would start a week later because of requirements for the length of summer. Officials need the entire summer for resident hall maintenance and repairs and curriculum preparation, Converse said.

She said that failing to adhere to the policy would likely be unpopular among students who the policy is meant to accommodate. Converse added that to her knowledge, students are not typically consulted in the setting of academic calendars.

The calendar policy was first adopted because of concerns from Jewish students in 2006, when there was also a conflict between move-in dates and the Rosh Hashannah.

During Rosh Hashanah, worshippers are supposed to pray and not focus on material things or work, said Tammy Rubin, a third-year human biology and society student and president of Hillel at UCLA, a Jewish cultural group. For some, it is all-encompassing and they could miss out on welcome activities that are meant to teach them what it means to be a UCLA student.

“(One year) it was the Tuesday of welcome week, and it completely disrupted the meaning of the holidays for me,” Rubin said.

Rubin said she felt some discussions about the calendar around campus have seemed anti-Semitic instead of focusing on the merits of the policy. She said she thinks students should not have the choice to alienate one community in this way.

While she does not support the two-week break, she said she supports the policy that avoids conflicts with religious holidays. She said the University should try to accommodate religious groups whenever possible.

The presidents are still working on the letter, and hope to have it ready sometime this week, Joanino said.