Creating a less stressful reading period for students this term is officially on the Student Assembly agenda, as a reading period reform proposal passed unanimously at a brief Assembly meeting last night.
Student Body President Janos Marton '04, Vice President for Academic Affairs Jonathan Lazarow '05 and the Academic Affairs Committee co-sponsored the proposal, which calls on the Assembly to lobby the faculty to give no tests after May 20 and make final papers due before the days between reading period, unless that paper is the final grade in a given class.
The reading period reform is in response to the "split reading period" that has become the normal conclusion to academic classes in the Spring term. In the past few years, Memorial Day has been included as one of the reading period days, and the second reading day has not come until later that week.
Marton said that the Assembly had already had a few other successes with reading period reform. He said he had confirmed with Dartmouth Dining Services that it would be logistically possible to staff Novack Caf with Assembly volunteers in order to keep it open an additional 23 hours during reading period.
Also, Library Services has pledged to the Assembly to do everything in their power to keep the special collections open during Memorial Day -- a day the libraries other than Baker-Berry normally close.
The Assembly has also resolved to lobby for change in future academic calendars. However, "the academic calendar is very complicated to change," said Marton.
As College President James Wright has said no days may be added on to the end of the academic calendar, the Assembly must search for a day students currently have off that could be exchanged for a more aptly placed day during the reading period.
"We are looking into options to add in an extra day," said Lazarow.
