Editorial: Glad to be wrong on fall break

In the Silhouette’s Oct. 18 issue, a news story and an editorial doubted that a fall break for 2013 would be possible.

The MSU had not yet launched its survey for gathering input on the break, and time was running out for the idea to pass through the University’s multi-tiered approval process. We argued that students union president Siobhan Stewart needed to forget surveys and quickly push forward if she hoped to get the job done. And even then, it was a long shot.

This week, we were proved wrong.

The MSU launched a survey, got a significant amount of feedback and took the information to University administrators. Undergraduate Council allowed the setting of next year’s academic calendar to be pushed to early 2013.

On Wednesday, Senate voted. There will be no classes on Thursday, Oct. 31 and Friday, Nov. 1, and there will be no tests on Saturday, Nov. 2. And the break will run again in 2014. With the exam period in December shifted forward two days and shrunk by one, no faculties will drop below their required number of teaching days.

It’s not a week. But it’s a break, just as was promised, and it was born out of a lot hard work. It’s a start, and it will help people.

Nice work, Siobhan. And to everyone else, have a happy Halloween.