2 - Friday, January 12, 2007
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
MONDAY:
The Extremist
TUESDAY:
Arbor Anecdotes
WEDNESDAY:
Before You Were Here
THURSDAY:F-
Campus Characters Explained
Why you're in class while your
friends are in Cancun
The University's vacation calendar explained
Have you spent the last week sit-
ting on the beech, sipping drinks
with umbrellas in them? If you're
at the University, the answer is
probably no.
While the University's holiday
break ends just after New Year's,
many other schools have breaks
that stretch well into January.
Yale University starts its second
semester Jan. 16, and students at
the University of Virginia won't
be back from their vacations until
Wednesday, giving students at
both schools a couple extra weeks
to relax.
Why is it that students at the
University must work while their
peers play?
It's a result of how the Univer-
sity divides the year, said Gretch-
en Weir, assistant vice provost
for academic affairs. In the early
1970s, the University moved from
a standard semester system to a
trimester system, designed to let
students go abroad or take courses
during the summer.
Evenly dividing the year gave
students more flexibility to persue
their education outside the class-
room in the summer, Weir said.
Switching to the trimester sys-
tem made the University's Win-
ter Break short because it forced
the University to fit 67 to 70 class
days into each trimester while still
operating within a few calendar
restraints.
In the fall, the University usu-
ally starts classes after Labor Day
and ends by Christmas. Then the
University needs to start class-
es early enough in January to
ensure 14 or 15 weeks of instruc-
tion before commencement in late
April - leaving enough time for a
15 week summer term before class-
es resume in the fall.
The schedule became tighter a
few years ago after students suc-
cessfully lobbied for a fall break.
The University then had to start
the academic year a day earlier to
compensate for the lost instruc-
tion time.
Weir said there are always com-
plaints when breaks are short, but
the trimester system remains too
popular and useful to abandon for
a couple extra days on the slopes or
at the beach.
WALTER NOWINSKI
FIL E PHOTO
A snowplowdrives in front of the Chemistry Building in 2002. Uni-
versitystudents often retatrfrom breaktoface the bruntawter
weather while their friends at other schools enoy the hooch.
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CRIME NOTES
Vomiting man Copper wire
refuses help stolen from 'U'
CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES
WHERE: Northwood V
WHEN: Thursday at about
2:30 a.m,
WHAT: A male Northwood
resident refused medical
transport after his wife
called an ambulance, the
Department of Public Safety
reported. The man had been
vomiting for more than 20
minutes.
WHERE: North Campus
Transfer Facility, 1655 Dean
St.
WHEN: Wednesday at about
12:30 p.m.
WHAT: About 150 feet of
copper wire was stolen from
a storage facility, DPS report-
ed. The bundle of wire was
worth $3,700.
Conference on
the future of
universities
WHAT: A daylong seminar
called "Challenges to Higher
Education in the 21st Centu-
ry," with speeches by past and
present university presidents
WHO: School of Education
WHEN: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
WHERE: Rackham Amphi-
theatre
Discussion on
LGBT figures in
entertainment
WHAT: A panel discussion
called "Beyond Will and
Grace" about portrayals of
LGBT people in the media
WHO: University's Office of
LGBT Affairs
WHEN: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
WHERE: MSA Chambers,
Michigan Union
Discussion on
HIV prevention
WHAT: A talk on strategies
for reducing sexually trans-
mitted disease
WHO: The Institute for
Research on Women and
Gender
WHEN: Noon to 1:130 p.m.
WHERE: 1136 Lane Hall
Dogsledding
trip in U.P.
WHAT: A dogsledding trip to
the Upper Peninsula for about
$200
WHO: Michigan Department
of Recreational Sports
WHEN: This weekend
WHERE: Sign up atthe Out-
door Adventures Center, 336
Hill St
CORRECTIONS
Please report any error in
the Daily to corrections@
michigandaily.com.
Soccer superstar David
Beckham yesterday signed
a five-year contract with
the Los Angeles Galaxy of
Major League Soccer. The Real
Madrid midfielder will make
$250 million over the next five
years, the highest salary ever
paid to an MLS player.
The State Theater is show-
ing a different film by the
Coen Brothers at midnight
every Saturday this month. This
Saturday, they will show "The
Hudsucker Proxy." On Jan. 20,
the theater will show "Raising
Arizona" and on Jan. 27, it will
screen "The Big Lebowski."
3A man pretending to be a
Catholic priest was arrested
this week for selling fake
tickets to see the Pope, Reuters
reported. The man had charged
customers over $250 for tickets to
Pope Benedict's scheduled visit
to Brazil this May.
Parking permit
Valuables stolen
stolen from car
from student
WHERE: Earl Moore Build-
ing,1100 Baits Dr.
WHEN: Wednesday at about
noon
WHAT: A student reported
the larceny of her wallet,
credit cards, driver's license
and MCard, DPS reported.
WHERE: Parking lot M-75,
1900 Fuller Rd.
WHEN: Wednesday at about
8:30 a.m.
WHAT: A female staff mem-
ber's parking pass was stolen
from her car, DPS reported.
Police did not know whether
her car was locked.
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