Originally Posted by salimak

A few more days off could make a difference, why do you think U of T gave their students two days off for a "November break"?

Wow, U of T did that? Surprising...

Yeah, it doesn't really matter to me. 12 days, 2 weeks, 7 days...
Besides, as soon as exam time starts you don't have to go to school anymore, so your break pretty much started from December 4th, albeit with some hours of studying interspersed in there.

Originally Posted by Alchemist11

Yeah, it doesn't really matter to me. 12 days, 2 weeks, 7 days...
Besides, as soon as exam time starts you don't have to go to school anymore, so your break pretty much started from December 4th, albeit with some hours of studying interspersed in there.

I guess it depends on each individual. Exam time is definately not a break for me. I study all day, almost every day (I usually don't study on Sundays unless I have a Monday exam). I spend as many hours per day studying as I would spend per day at school. So I don't start my vacation/break until my exams are done. It would be nice if I got a month vacation, but that's definately not the case for me.

Yeah...I'm sure it depends on the program and whatnot too.

If the program was something a lot harder (like social science) than Life Science I, then I wouldn't have as much time to do nothing as I do right now.

Originally Posted by Katia

Yeah I mean everyone has a few days between exams right?

sure everyone has a few days, hell i don't start till the 15th. this time is hardly a break at all though i'm studying like crazy! just because we don't have class doesn't mean were not working. i'm talking about the time between semesters when there is literally no work for someone to do

Schools with two reading weeks have more students who kill themselves. The reading weeks are there to relieve stress so the suicide rates go down.

Originally Posted by Rossclot

Schools with two reading weeks have more students who kill themselves. The reading weeks are there to relieve stress so the suicide rates go down.

I also heard of this, but I wasn't sure how true it was. Really depressing if it is.

My sister went to a school that had two reading weeks and it was exactly that, to relieve stress so that the suicide rate in people going to university wasn't as high.

Originally Posted by RockerSocker

If you weren't so dense, you'd realize that nobody's complaining about the amount of time we're in school. The complaints are about McMaster's poor scheduling, and the fact that most people would gladly have an extra week of school added on to the end of April if that meant we would get an extra week off during Christmas.

Actually, I'd personally rather have the time off in the spring/summer when I work for money that will subsequently pay for second year.

It's funny, you posted a page back about how someone shouldn't name call. The only person I see blatantly name-calling is you.

Originally Posted by sniderj

Totally. Count your blessings while you're in school. Don't whine because someone else gets more than you do. Be happy that you are among the very privileged few who are so lucky that the only thing they can think to complain about is "only" getting 12 days off.

Yeah, nobody should ever complain about anything because there is always someone worse off than you. We're among the very privileged few to even be alive to have something to complain about.

Also, stress is not good for one's health. If 12 days *really* isn't enough for someone, then that is a genuine concern.

Id like to weigh in on this, as an international student it really sucks, christmas is the only time i get to see my family throughout the academic year and my final exam is on the morning of the 22nd and i have to rush to the airport to make my flight which - only gets me home for the 23rd, and again i have to leave on the morning of the 3rd to be back in time. im glad to be able to go home and see my family but personally im really upset i only get basically 10 days with them, never mind the time difference which will make it hard. i know it was my choice to come here and so i cant complain but i really do wish i had longer. i miss them soooo much,(never mind my friends at home!) but i feel like the length wont make it a break to rest but rather a chance to see my family and friends, which will end up being so hectic because of the time limit.. personally i would have loved a chance to spend more time with them!
rant over.

Originally Posted by homeskillet

Id like to weigh in on this, as an international student it really sucks, christmas is the only time i get to see my family throughout the academic year and my final exam is on the morning of the 22nd and i have to rush to the airport to make my flight which - only gets me home for the 23rd, and again i have to leave on the morning of the 3rd to be back in time. im glad to be able to go home and see my family but personally im really upset i only get basically 10 days with them, never mind the time difference which will make it hard. i know it was my choice to come here and so i cant complain but i really do wish i had longer. i miss them soooo much,(never mind my friends at home!) but i feel like the length wont make it a break to rest but rather a chance to see my family and friends, which will end up being so hectic because of the time limit.. personally i would have loved a chance to spend more time with them!
rant over.

very true, i never considered international students. thats another thing though that i'd like to point out. i only get to see my friends from home at christmas each year as well because i'm from about 500 km's away. my family i see a bit more often, but not much. i'm thinking some people that think the break is long enough maybe live close and have the privilege of going home weekends to see friends/family?

i could be wrong though

Originally Posted by oakster15

very true, i never considered international students. thats another thing though that i'd like to point out. i only get to see my friends from home at christmas each year as well because i'm from about 500 km's away. my family i see a bit more often, but not much. i'm thinking some people that think the break is long enough maybe live close and have the privilege of going home weekends to see friends/family?

i could be wrong though

You mean not everybody has the same situation and circumstances? That's shocking! /sarcasm

People should be more respectful of people instead of whining about whining since there is a legitimate reason people are whining in the first place.

I think this thread just proves how many McMaster students are ignorant to the problems others face, and that if they don't agree, they say they're whiners. And I can't believe one of those people is one of the leaders of the SRA, the people who are supposed to represent students and be respectful to the plight and concerns of students. It's really quite disappointing.

SRA members are entitled to their own opinions as individuals.