The concept of “dead week” has never made much sense to me.
People tell me it’s a week dedicated to studying and not having any homework, as if it was a time to relax before final exams. I get a little jealous of people who think this way, because for me, everything is due this week.
For dead week to live up to its name, I think all professors would have to agree on having nothing due this week, because right now it’s a meaningless title if people can’t relax and focus on studying. Maybe people just call it dead week because they are “dying” for the semester to be over.
It’s ironic hearing people complaining about finals and studying when they signed up for college. You are paying for an education; what did you expect? If you want to do well, it’s not that hard to buckle down and study for your major.
I myself don’t take many finals due to my major, but when I took them in high school (and a few in college), I didn’t study much for them. I just figured that I know what I know and cramming doesn’t help.
When you’re an art major like me, you tend to not have more than one final in a semester. Instead of having a final in every class, we have a bunch of projects due during dead week. I had four projects and presentations due this week, and that’s stressful.
Not only are projects due, but I have to take all the artwork I’ve completed for the semester and put it in a portfolio to turn into my drawing professor. I’m pretty good about getting all my work done throughout the year, but I came down with mononucleosis before Thanksgiving break. That put me behind on one of my drawings, so this week I am scrambling to get it done.
Along with turning in a portfolio this week, I have to work on a final drawing project that is due on Tuesday, the day that we would normally take a final if we had one.
On the bright side, I prefer having a relaxed finals week as opposed to a relaxed dead week. I’m able to start my winter vacation earlier.
Teresa Hediger is a junior in fine arts. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Collegian. Please send comments to opinion@kstatecollegian.com.
