It's that time of the year again.
It's one week before finals and the campus is teeming with frazzled students who have bags under their eyes that could pass for carry-on luggage. These poor souls resort to caffeine-induced energy to make it through the final push of the semester. Many of those with heavy workloads are familiar with sleep depravation so severe that it hurts to close your eyes - a sensation that can only be compared to being stabbed by tiny shards of glass underneath your eyelids.
If you haven't seen these students yet, you either aren't looking hard enough or haven't visited any computer pods, libraries, Architecture and Planning studios or the Frontier Restaurant.
We are juggling presentations, papers, projects and an assortment of other work that is due during the next two weeks, not to mention those dreaded finals. Sure, many of us should have planned ahead, but it seems that no matter what you do, the end of the semester is always hectic.
Since this time crunch is inevitable, it may seem as though the University can do relatively little more than pry students out of their seats and send them home at the end of the semester. That, however, is not the case.
Most colleges and universities nationwide have a dead week before finals. During this week, no exams or any other assignments are due. With the exception of review sessions, many professors don't even conduct class. UNM used to have a dead week, but it inexplicably was eliminated.
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I would even settle for a dead day. Just one more day with nothing to do but study.
I should point out that my professors have been more than generous in accommodating my work schedule and aren't to blame. In fact, many instructors do take pity on their students, but can only do so much to help. It can just become too much for many students who are drowning in a sea of work - carrying a full course load, working and spending time with their families.
This editorial is simply a call to the administration for help on behalf of all students, regardless of whether they are lucky enough not to need it.
Iliana Lim¢n
Editor in chief
