Opinions Writer

Thanksgiving break is a time to surround yourself with family and friends, not to focus on school. California State University of Bakersfield only gives its students two days of the week off, and one of those is Thanksgiving day.

That is not enough time for a break, for travel, or to enjoy the time that you are supposed to be spending with loved ones. CSUB students should get a full week off for Thanksgiving break. The professors and the students all have family and friends that they need to be able to spend time with.

Hailey Leal, a freshman psychology major, agrees that students should get a full week off because it interferes with the time spent with family.

“It does hinder with family flying in, like you have school the next day anyways,” says Leal. She believes that it is hard to see them at all, let alone to take the time out of the day to go retrieve them from the airport.

Sabrina Morales, a sophomore nursing major, would have visited her family that lives out of town, but has classes that she cannot miss. She also believes that students should be realistic with the break that they do get.

“Of course I want to have the whole week off, but I do pay for college, so I would like to maximize my education,” says Morales.

Many professors, in fact, cancel class on that week of Thanksgiving so that they can spend time with their friends and family. It would be productive to offer the alternative of adding an extra week to the semester schedule to make up for the break that students would receive for Thanksgiving.

Leal said that all of her professors but one cancelled class during that week.

Alexis Mendoza, a freshman nursing major, agrees that getting a full week off would be great. She proposes that students start the semester a week early, so that they may not worry about anything during their break, which is meant to be a time for relaxation and family.

I know for myself that many of my professors have cancelled classes for that week, which they had planned for in advance and even put on their syllabus.

Family plans also have to be rearranged for those of us who could not attend gatherings or even have the time to travel to family events.

Many students also skip classes during that week to be with family, and that can be both frustrating to professors as well as counterproductive for students.

CSUB should allow its students and staff to have a full week off for Thanksgiving break, because it benefits all those who attend the school, whether it is for a job or for their education.