Dear Editor:
I am disappointed that yesterday's article on Veterans Day scheduling, titled "Committee recommends that Veterans Day be class-free," did not address the underlying problem with the Tufts academic calendar, which starts after Labor Day every year without exception. It constrains the calendar, which not only forces classes on federal holidays, but truncates an already short reading period and keeps us in school almost until Christmas.
Starting before Labor Day in certain years, a solution neglected by yesterday's article, was the primary suggestion in a Senate resolution that I wrote and that unanimously passed the Senate on March 7. This resolution also said that only if starting before Labor Day was impossible for a particular year — say, 2010, considering the next academic year is only a few months away — holding classes on Columbus Day would be an acceptable alternative.
The recommendation by the faculty's Education Policy Committee should be viewed only as a stopgap measure for the 2010-2011 academic calendar. If we want to keep both Columbus Day and Veterans Day as holidays, if we want a reading period comparable to the three days in the spring semester (or at least not a one-weekday reading period), and if we want to be home in mid-December, let's start before Labor Day when necessary. Other schools manage to do it; why not Tufts?
Sincerely,
Christopher Snyder
Class of 2011
