Archive for Thursday, November 8, 2007
Worries persist that lack of classes on Day 5 boosts drinking on Day 4
November 8, 2007
Advertisement
Does lack of Friday classes lead to Thursday night drinking?
Friday classes - few college students have them and nobody wants them. It's a national problem according to the U.S. Surgeon General and as 6News reporter Jonathan Kealing shows us, it's true at KU, too. Enlarge video
Kansas University seniors, from left, Reilly Pharo, of Golden, Colo., Katie Skogsbergh, of Chicago, Brittani Johnson, of Denver, and Jessica Gerrick, of Fort Worth, Texas, celebrate Skogsbergh's birthday with other friends on a Thursday at the Sandbar on East Eighth Street. Thursdays are a popular day for students to visit bars, especially for those who don't have Friday classes.
Reader poll
On the street
What do you think is the biggest drinking night for students?
Thursday, unless it’s a game night. That’s when they have the best drink specials.
When classes are offered at KU
Fewer classes are offered on Fridays than on any other day during the week, except the few offered on Saturdays. Below is a list of the number of class hours each day during the week.
Monday: 2,040
Tuesday: 2,279
Wednesday: 2,195
Thursday: 2,271
Friday: 1,441
Saturday: 49
At several bars in town, the best drink specials aren't confined to Friday and Saturday.
They start Thursday.
Walk through the Kansas University campus on a Friday and you'll quickly realize why.
"Thursdays are the new Fridays," said Keegan Miller, a KU senior.
"I have class at 11 tomorrow, and that's pushing it," he said last Thursday night.
That attitude, the U.S. Surgeon General said in a report issued earlier this year, is in large part the fault of colleges and universities that don't schedule classes on Fridays. A recent study from the University of Missouri backs up that claim.
But at the University of Iowa, as well as at smaller schools along the eastern seaboard, university administrators are trying to take back Fridays with more mandatory classes being offered. And at KU, a group of faculty, staff and students will begin meeting soon to discuss the surgeon general's report, the MU study and what KU can do to get a handle on what many faculty and staff believe is an increasing amount of student drinking.
Avoid Friday classes
"You try to schedule away from Friday classes," said KU senior Kyle Weinstein as he walked out of Quinton's last week. "When you do have them, you schedule them as late as possible. I had a Friday class one semester, and I didn't go to it once."
But at KU, like almost every school, avoiding Friday classes is actually pretty easy.
Friday classes are far less frequent than classes other days during the week. Of the 10,275 classes offered this semester, only 1,441 meet on Friday.
By comparison, 2,040 classes meet on Monday and 2,279 meet on Tuesday, which is the most popular day for classes.
"There no easy answer (for how classes are scheduled)," KU spokeswoman Jill Jess said. "Faculty preference is taken into consideration. Individual departments make requests, and then the registrar's office accommodates those requests based on available classrooms. If it doesn't work, they make alternative suggestions."
It's not just students who are often eager to stay out of the classroom on Fridays. Faculty often use Fridays for meetings or to conduct research, Jess said.
Study: Friday class means less drinking
Phil Wood, professor of quantitative psychology at MU, has been teaching classes for nearly 20 years. Over time, he's noticed that attendance in his Friday classes is not what it is during the rest of the week.
So he decided to conduct a study and see how much - and when - students at MU were drinking. According to his research, students with Friday morning classes were dramatically less likely to binge drink, or drink at all, on Thursday nights. And he said there didn't seem to be a make-up factor during the rest of the weekend.
"It's pretty surprising how effective it is in terms of interventions to reduce college drinking," Wood said. "It's not a magic pill. If people have a Friday class and at least one drink Thursday night, there's still a one-in-two chance that they'll binge drink. But that's down from two-in-three who (binge drink and) don't have a Friday class."
Recently, Wood said, MU administrators have talked about incentive pay for faculty who offer Friday classes.
While it's only talk, Wood says it seems a backdoor way for MU to, based on his research, get more students in Friday classes.
Wood wants to validate his research by studying students at the University of Iowa as it increases the number of Friday morning classes. He said this would be a way to determine if Friday classes can work as an intervention - or a way to curtail student drinking - rather than just an interesting correlation.
Iowa dives in
The University of Iowa is the first large university to buy into Wood's data so much that starting in fall 2008, more classes will be offered on Fridays.
"We've thought about it for quite awhile," said Iowa Vice Provost Tom Rocklin. "(What) pushed us to action was the study out of the University of Missouri this summer. We want to send the message that being a student is a serious matter."
Rocklin said so far, faculty and students seem to be accepting of the idea of more Friday classes. This semester, Iowa is trying to build a schedule that increases the number of classes on Fridays, while accommodating students who need to have jobs and faculty who need time for research.
"It's not easy," he said. "When you make a schedule, you usually start with last fall's schedule and tinker with it. Real change is hard. It's going to take a lot of work."
But Rocklin is convinced it's worth it. And that's not to say every professor will teach Fridays, or that all students will take a class at 9 a.m. Friday.
"We're looking especially at classes that come early in people's careers and classes that are required," Rocklin said. "We're also looking at popular classes - classes that make sense."
Wood's study recommended many freshman classes be offered on Fridays because students establish routines, particularly as they relate to drinking, early in their college careers.
At KU, study begins soon
The MU study and surgeon general's report have not gone unnoticed at KU. In fact, Lori Reesor, associate vice provost of student success, will convene a group of faculty, staff and students to examine the issue of alcohol in the KU community.
"We know alcohol continues to be an issue on college campuses," Reesor said. "We have a group of a dozen colleagues who are looking at KU practices and then will be looking at best practices across the country.
"We will be reviewing the MU report and the Iowa decision and deciding whether it has an impact on our students."
Reesor said more Friday classes could be a factor in reducing student drinking.
"This is a national issue," Reesor said. "It's the topic of many, many conferences and workshops. I feel like I get information weekly on what institutions are doing."
Reesor said she gets the impression that students are coming to college now having chosen to drink at a younger age. While she says KU can't fix this societal problem, she says the university has a responsibility to deal with behaviors that manifest themselves on campus.
"We need to deal with the students, the behaviors and the values they have when they come to college," she said. "Otherwise, they take those values with them when they go into the work force."
More like this
- KU TO SHOW LAWRENCE JUNIORS BENEFITS OF STAYING AT HOME April 25, 1996
- Despite staff increase, KU psychologists overloaded 7 comments / April 28, 2007
- KU TO HOST HARPSICHORD COMPETITION November 15, 1992
- HAWK WEEK GETS STUDENTS ORIENTED August 16, 1991
- KU ORIENTATION STAFF NEARS END OF SUCCESSFUL SUMMER SESSIONS July 19, 1990
Top ads RSS
Marketplace
Arts & Entertainment · Bars · Theatres · Restaurants · Coffeehouses · Libraries · Antiques · Services
- Blog: How Has Obama's Stimulus Helped You? November 21, 2009 · 59 comments
- Quiet revolution taking place in America November 25, 2009 · 118 comments
- Turbine manufacturer passes on Lawrence site November 24, 2009 · 75 comments
- Haskell freshman dies in Montana jail November 24, 2009 · 27 comments
- Federal government seeking easement on 1 million acres of Flint Hills November 25, 2009 · 13 comments
- Lambert performance causes stir November 25, 2009 · 41 comments
- Stay or leave? It's business as usual for Mangino in wake of probe November 25, 2009 · 39 comments
- On the street: Is Thanksgiving your favorite holiday? November 25, 2009 · 44 comments
- Dropping home values may not accurately reflect market November 25, 2009 · 37 comments
- Blog: Tasering Your Preteen: Can You Imagine? November 24, 2009 · 68 comments
- Former KU Chancellor Laurence Chalmers dies November 25, 2009
- Message warns students at Perry-Lecompton not to attend class today April 20, 2007
- Pale veggies pack plenty of nutrition December 17, 2008
- KU says student didn't follow proper lab procedures before exposure to toxic chemical November 25, 2009
- School district may have to tap contingency fund November 24, 2009
- Lawrence likely to land distribution center November 24, 2009
- Keenly attuned blind couple have different way of ‘looking at’ things October 12, 2009
- 6News video: SLT opponents gather for forum June 15, 2008
- Kansas ranks 24th in nation when it comes to health November 24, 2009
8 November 2007
at 6:25 a.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
Kuku_Kansas (Anonymous) says…
When the Williams Fund actually allowed for me to tailgate on Memorial Drive, I remember using the restrooms in Snow Hall and seeing Saturday morning lecture classes being conducted at 10am.
Ugh. I couldn't even imagine.
8 November 2007
at 7:46 a.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
MCwzMC (Anonymous) says…
Another example of America's favorite pastime - Paternalism. This is perhaps the dumbest thing I have ever read. Not surprising that the research was conducted at MU. That professor is a real a brain surgeon.
8 November 2007
at 8:20 a.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
Toto_the_great (Anonymous) says…
Thursday? When I was at KU, drink specials could be found Tues - Sat… and Mon night was dedicated to football (BBQ and beer) at home with the boys, so that left Sun, which meant sleeping, church, and family with a little football sprinkled in the mix. What's a few cocktails after a hard evening of studying? It helps relax the brain. I faired okay at KU and went out just about every night. The big thing is practicing common sense. Just because you go out for an evening of drinking, doesn't mean you have to get drunk (dang… I sound like my parents, except I didn't have to walk up hill both ways to school… I rode my bike).
8 November 2007
at 8:51 a.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
Marion (Marion Lynn) says…
Inappropriate behaviour must always have a “cause”.
In this PC world, personal responsibility is as dead as the Dodo.
8 November 2007
at 9:15 a.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
WilburM (Anonymous) says…
1960s and 1970s in Madison, WI, where consumption far outstrips Lawrence and KU, Thursday nights were THE bar nights. Somehow the University kept going and prospered, and the students survived just fine. We've got so much hand-holding now. Please, no more.
8 November 2007
at 9:17 a.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
oldvet (Anonymous) says…
Move more classes to Friday and the real screaming will come from the faculty… even the article points out the faculty's preference for no class on Friday… back in the “old” days our 3-credit classes were mostly on M-W-F, with 5-credit classes on M-T-W-T-F… what we tried to avoid was the dreaded T-T-S class they would try to schedule… and those 7:30am classes!
8 November 2007
at 9:17 a.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
dsmith84 (Anonymous) says…
Professors don't WANT to teach on fridays.
Students don't WANT to go to class on fridays.
This sounds like a perfect way for people to get what they want! This way profs can spend their fridays getting research done (which is 40% of their job in most cases) and students can spend it any way they want.
If students are spending their fridays recovering from binge drinking then that is their choice. The university doesn't really have the authority to tell these kids when they can and can't drink (save for not drinking in classrooms, which I'm pretty sure is under their jurisdiction).
If the university starts scheduling more Friday classes, they are going to see lower attendance in friday classes. They are going to have upset professors who are wasting an hour of their friday teaching to 1/3 of their class.
I agree with Marion… personal responsibility is dead. By the time you get to college 99.9% of the student body are legal adults, which means they can do whatever they want with their time. If that means binge drinking, most are going to do it whether they have class or not, because they enroll in the classes that they desire, and they make decisions on whether attending those classes is worth their time.
8 November 2007
at 9:36 a.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
compmd (Anonymous) says…
“Professors don't WANT to teach on fridays.”
So all the decades before when they did they really didn't want to?
Come on, the only reason students are raising a stink about Friday classes is because more and more there are those who value their social lives more than their education. Keep Friday classes, people have gotten by working on Fridays for millennia. Besides, if college is supposed to be preparation for the real world, *not* having Friday classes is irresponsible of the University, because you can bet that when these students go off into the real world they are going to have to work on Fridays.
Thursday: Its the new Friday.
8 November 2007
at 9:37 a.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
The_Original_Bob (Anonymous) says…
At several bars in town, the best drink specials aren't confined to Friday and Saturday.
They start Thursday.”
Not true at all. This goes against all business logic. The best deals are Mon - Wed. to draw kids in. Thursday may be included as well, but Fri and Sat rarely have “good” deals if any at all. The kids are going out anyways.
8 November 2007
at 9:37 a.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
sourpuss (Anonymous) says…
At a certain point, people have to be responsible for their own decisions, and as 21 is the legal drinking age, it means that those 21 and older can drink ANY night of the week it pleases them. Oh, and newsflash, KU, I bet you if someone wants to drink badly enough, the idea of a class the next morning won't necessarily put them off of it. It is called -alcoholism-.
8 November 2007
at 9:38 a.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
Write2Know (Anonymous) says…
How can this be a problem when probably less than 20% of the student body is of legal drinking age?
8 November 2007
at 10:03 a.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
mrkuwick (Anonymous) says…
This is news? This has been going on forever. In my undergrad years Thursdays were the best nights to go out. There was comedy club at Gammons and nickel draws at the Sanctuary after that.
8 November 2007
at 10:07 a.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
jayneway (Anonymous) says…
Thursdays were the new Fridays ten years ago. AS if this is news!
8 November 2007
at 10:11 a.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
OldEnuf2BYurDad (Anonymous) says…
So… If I understand the concern, it is that the binge drinking is on thursday night instead of the traditional FRIDAY night. But, if that same drinking took place on Friday, we wouldn't have any concerns about how much college students drink?
When I was an undergrad (1980s), it was common to have Friday classes like any other day, unless you were in Econ or Business. They scheduled most of their classes M/W and T/R so that they could leave room on Friday for discussion classes. But, if you didn't have a discussion section for any of your classes… you'd have Friday off. That's why The Wheel and that Bullwinkles place always did so well: frat boys would drink Thursday through Saturday nights, and didn't have to drive home.
8 November 2007
at 10:29 a.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
ukillaJJ (Anonymous) says…
This is completely (f'in) ridiculous. Every college town has a “party” night, whether it is Thursday or not, should not have any effect on KU's class policies. KU recently changed it's class structure to have more classes that are over an hour in order to avoid rushing within a given class period. This results in classes that can be offered only 2 days a week, which means that many classes have switched from being MWF classes, to MW or TR classes. This is not only beneficial for students (i.e. lax Friday's or possibly Mondays if you only have TR classes) but it is also beneficial for teachers and graduate students that have other responsibilities - i.e. research, curriculum development, lives, etc. etc.
A person (i.e. student or teacher) does not need to prove his or her worth by being at school 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. I think that a quality education can come in many forms, and basing an educational system on the metric of how many people get drunk on a Thursday evening is probably one of the dumbest things I've ever heard of.
Stupid people do stupid things, end of story… if you beef up classes on Friday, then you will just have more hungover students in class and/or another day will become the “party day”. Maybe we should offer more Saturday classes as well. That way, everybody can get all of their weekly drink quotas out of the way on Sunday in one long binge. I'm sure that would make for a pleasant Monday.
8 November 2007
at 10:32 a.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
The_Original_Bob (Anonymous) says…
“How can this be a problem when probably less than 20% of the student body is of legal drinking age?”
Is it make up your own statistic day? Cool. I'll play. 89% of statistics thrown out on the LJW boards are completely false and have little bearing on reality.
8 November 2007
at 10:32 a.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
bulldawgs (Anonymous) says…
I would suggest we run classes from Wednesday through Sunday…surely nobody will drink on Sunday night or Monday…
8 November 2007
at 10:34 a.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
creamygnome (Anonymous) says…
omg drinking is so awesome!!!!
I'm not currently a student…but if I was I'd like to take an equal amount of classes everyday. Or, I'd like to have friday classes if that means I get a few more credit hours per semester. Like I want to spent 6 years in college? No.
Drinking and OVER-drinking is here to stay. Whatever classes students do have on fridays, apprently missing them isn't causing much harm to their grades…maybe the university oughta do something about that.
Maybe no one cares. Is this a lawrence.com article or something?
8 November 2007
at 10:42 a.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
plasticJHawk (Anonymous) says…
It's true that the university can't tell kids when they can and can't drink and can't make kids go to class. But come on, students and parents are paying for an education not just a degree. Maybe we should just not have class at all. Just let the students buy their books and read them and study them on the own and give them a standardized test at the end of the semester. Then the university doesn't even need teachers. They can just hire all researchers. I was lucky enough to have my mom pay for my college and I worked hard I never missed class and I found time to go out at night when I wanted to. I had classmates who went out almost every night of the week and still made it to class Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday AND Friday. It's true, if KU forces kids to take Friday classes, then they are also forcing teachers to lecture in front of empty classrooms. The answer is this. Make your classes harder. Make students WORK. Flunk some of the ones who don't want to be there. It's the only way to bring responsibility back into the system.
8 November 2007
at 10:42 a.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
Godot (Anonymous) says…
I am seriously sorry that so many young people are establishing an addiction that will ruin their health, their relationships and their futures.
8 November 2007
at 10:44 a.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
dsmith84 (Anonymous) says…
I love that all these people are throwing out things like “the real world works 5 days a week”.
Why?
Who is to say you can't get a job working 4 10 hour days instead of 5 8 hour days?
A shorter work week with longer hours increases productivity, decreases cost (energy bills, transportation costs) and reduces reliance on things like day-care services.
I have plenty of friends who have “REAL”jobs (salaries over 30K, desks at office buildings) who work longer hours monday-thursday and either don't have to work friday or work half days on friday.
the main POINT should be that binge drinking should not be the reason KU changes their class schedule… the university and politicians in general have no right to control when and how much people drink, unless they want to change the law to say you have to have a college degree to legally drink…
8 November 2007
at 10:44 a.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
Godot (Anonymous) says…
Maybe high schools and colleges should hand out that pill that makes you sick if you drink right alongside the birth control pills and condoms.
8 November 2007
at 10:52 a.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
Confrontation (Anonymous) says…
This is silly. Those of us who wanted to do well in college would plan our drinking accordingly. Those who drank too much on school nights and weren't ready for class deserved what they got. Serious students aren't going to get wasted the night before an important test. The other students usually aren't as smart to begin with, so there's really no big concern.
8 November 2007
at 11 a.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
dsmith84 (Anonymous) says…
I love that of the handful of students they interviewed, they were all thursday night drinkers… a 5 person sample size doesn't properly represent the 25,000 plus who go to KU…
8 November 2007
at 11:04 a.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
perkins (Anonymous) says…
And KU has that wonderful chancellor who greeted the students at convocation by saying “Welcome, party animals.”
8 November 2007
at 11:10 a.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
Fatty_McButterpants (Anonymous) says…
They have to offer incentive pay to the faculty to teach classes on Fridays?? How about “do your damn job or we'll find someone who will!”
Quit coddling the little buggers. Undergrad is easy. If they can't show up to class - flunk 'em.
8 November 2007
at 11:21 a.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
LogicMan (Anonymous) says…
“I love that of the handful of students they interviewed, they were all thursday night drinkers: a 5 person sample size doesn't properly represent the 25,000 plus who go to KU:”
Ditto, and definitely not typical students of the hard sciences. Lots of MWF classes, and lab sections on Saturdays are still fairly common. Plus homework to do afterward …
8 November 2007
at 11:27 a.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
mrkuwick (Anonymous) says…
The B school (at least in the past) used a lot of adjunct professors that taught T-TR so that they would miss the least amount of time at their regular jobs.
8 November 2007
at 11:28 a.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
hitme (Anonymous) says…
I think we should follow the lead of Europe and provide alcohol training early, so by college, students will be seasoned drinkers. Wine/beer with every meal …just to maintain that alcohol effects immunity.
8 November 2007
at 11:36 a.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
badger (Anonymous) says…
You know, if they start requiring Friday classes, the professors tagged to teach them will be the lowest on the tenure totem pole. If they make a lot of those classes required core classes, that all freshman take, then you have inexperienced students being taught by equally inexperienced professors.
My freshman year, my chemistry professor was brilliant. He was a longtime tenured professor with an established reputation at the University (which was not KU), who managed to face a classroom of 500 students and get them all engaged in the process of learnng chemistry. Same for the intro bio classes, that were taught by well-known professors and really well-structured. Getting to set their own schedule is a perk these professors value. The bio class was T-R so that the professor, who was doing research in another state, could take five or six long weekends a semester to go to his site. On several occasions, he took students with him for extra credit or just to see how the field research process was different from the lab research process.
I'm not in favor of requiring class schedules that will leave more experienced professors even less inclined than they already are to teach mandatory core classes.
Also, when I was an undergrad supporting myself, being able to schedule an entire day free of classes meant I could pick up an extra day shift in addition to my evening and weekend shifts, and made me more employable. When I started working in a lab, that 'day off' was an opportunity to run multiple assays or drive out to the field site.
Yes, binge drinking is a problem, but why penalize those who use the 'four day' schedule to further their education or support themselves because a bunch of drunks can't exercise a little personal responsibility? It's hand-holding at its finest. Given that students are more likely to have a finite amount of money that defines their drinking habits as opposed to defining them with a finite amount of available nights, schedule widgeting just seems like it would hurt the kids being responsible and not make much of a dent in the consumption of the heavy boozers.
8 November 2007
at 11:45 a.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
daddax98 (Anonymous) says…
dolly,
uh…..what?
8 November 2007
at 11:52 a.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
denak (Anonymous) says…
Granted, I'm probably an old fuddy duddy but if it is more important to go out and get drunk (or nurse a hangover) than to go to class on Friday,…I say “Flunk 'em.”
If I was a professor, I would schedule my quizes and exams on Friday and if you don't show up, too bad. That's a zero for you.
I don't think KU or any university should condone what is essential criminal activity. Most freshman, sophmores and juniors are under the age of 21. If they are out drinking,they are breaking the law. Why make it easier for them, and the bars that serve them, to break the law? There are consequences to your actions. But they are YOUR actions. The University should not have to deal with them.
I graduated from KU in 2003. I was a non-trad and a good decade older than the majority of students. I went so that I could get an education and learn a skill and/or get a degree that would get me one of those good paying jobs (whatever the work week configuration) I went to a lot of MWF classes. In fact, most of them were MFW classes. There were times that I had to miss class because of a sick child or I had to work, and some professors didn't cut me any slack.
So, why should the students, who are underage, and drinking get a pass. Grow up and go to class and don't expect the university or anyone else to coddle you.
Dena
8 November 2007
at 12:35 p.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
meanbean101 (Anonymous) says…
why not give it a try? It won't hurt anyone, it's not that big of a deal.If it doesn't work it's something that can be changed.All the complaints, but no other alternative solutions? To deny that as a society alcoholism is a problem, is completely naive. If the University wants to try and curb the beginnings of these habits,more power to them. And those of you who complain about high insurance rates should surelye thanking anyone trying to avoid future substance abuse prolems with the extremely high cost of treatment centers.
8 November 2007
at 1:02 p.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
badger (Anonymous) says…
Meanbean (and others advocating this):
Who's denying that social alcoholism is an issue?
There's a logical fallacy in your argument. You seem to be assuming that anyone who believes that alcoholism in undergraduates is a problem will therefore believe that it's the University's responsibility to curb that *and* that the best way for the University to curb binge drinking is to require Friday classes. I agree with the first (that binge drinking is a concern), only partially with the second (it's in the University's best interests to address binge drinking, but it's not their responsibility to prevent students from doing it), and not at all with the third. Don't mistake, “That trick never works,” for dismissing the problem entirely.
If a student is binge drinking on Thursday nights and is forced to take Friday classes, he'll either skip them, perform poorly in them, or binge another night. Forcing Friday classes is a hand-waving “Hey, look, we're *concerned* about binge drinking and we're *addressing* it!” misdirection that lets KU and other universities off the hook for a while.
How about improved funding for peer education on alcohol and alcoholism? How about incorporating more discussion of binge drinking in freshman orientations? How about actual fun dorm activities on Friday and Saturday nights that don't involve drinking? My dorm floor had movie nights, complete with junk food, hot cocoa from the cafeteria, and themes (horror movies, action flicks, etc); over three-quarters of the students on my floor came to each one.
How about talking about the very real fact that drinking does not have to be binge drinking? By the time I came to college, booze was no big deal for me because my family often had wine with dinner, and my mother had no objection if I made myself a drink while I watched TV in the evening, so long as I didn't drive anywhere or have more than one. I learned about responsible drinking; I think that extracurricular programs that talk about the differences between responsible and binge drinking would be a lot more valuable than prohibition-style anti-drinking education (Yeah, I know they're minors, but is it more important to preserve the fiction that is our legal drinking age, or to teach people healthy habits that could save lives?), and infinitely more reasonable and sensible than jacking course schedules around and taking away an advantage some people are using to a positive effect.
8 November 2007
at 1:07 p.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
Bodan (Sandra Willis) says…
Ummmm,
After I left college, I worked two jobs - from 45 to 60 hours a week.
During? I turned 21 during my Senior year - Was taking way too many classes to drink more than once a week.
But, yes, I got my education.
8 November 2007
at 1:12 p.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
meanbean101 (Anonymous) says…
I just don't understand all the complaints. Why not try it? I don't really care either way,I just don't understand all the impassioned pleas against it. It would be great to see this kind of passion directed at one of the many pressing issues facing our society and nation.
8 November 2007
at 1:18 p.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
meanbean101 (Anonymous) says…
“You seem to be assuming that anyone who believes that alcoholism in undergraduates is a problem will therefore believe that it's the University's responsibility to curb that *and* that the best way for the University to curb binge drinking is to require Friday classes”
Actually this is not what I said or believe. You seem tobe putting words in my mouth. I don't think that's the asolute best solution however it isin no way an idea not worth trying. Why we can't all just try new things, the world will not end.How about a little positivity here and support for people truly concerned about others well being and success? Why do we have to shoot down every idea people have if we disagree? We can use all of our ideas and see what works.
8 November 2007
at 1:30 p.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
MattressMan (Anonymous) says…
Binge drinking schminge drinking all it is is getting trashed and it's not anything new to college adults (not kids but adults, over 18), been happening for decades. How many people on here went to school and played pass out, quarters or some other drinking partying game? Was that binge drinking? Did alchoholism take over your life? Graduate, drop out and get on with your life.
8 November 2007
at 1:46 p.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
moo (Anonymous) says…
I was a very good student, and boy did I love my Fridays mostly off. As a science student there was no way I'd ever get all of Friday free, but I usually could manage to take only one Friday class. I worked so incredibly hard all week, as did my peers at my school, and Friday afternoons were the thing that got me through the week. I could sit and read, get homework out of the way, pick up a few extra hours at work, or even just sun on the lawn. I would have been furious if my school, in an attempt to stop some kids from partying on Thursday nights (Tuesdays were big at my school too, despite the fact that everyone had class on Wednesday), had suddenly forced me to take required courses on Friday. Give the kids a break on Friday, college is hard work for a lot of people. (offtotheright, your work week probably doesn't include most evenings until midnight and all day both Saturday and Sunday, my college week did) Those who really want to drink Thursday night are going to do it whether they have class Friday or not.
8 November 2007
at 2:10 p.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
just_another_ninja (Anonymous) says…
Thus Friday remains the best day of the week across the board.
I don't see what all the big fuss is about. Sounds like jealousy. The working world whines if they can't wear their jeans and beach shirts… they whine if they learn that kids get the day off.
Lame. While I understand the concern, drinking is still going to be a part of college. Perhaps these people should be focused on boosting school rankings, the quality of the teachers, the quality of the education, better tuition rates, and so on. Let the police handle the drinking problem. That's why laws exist.
Go burrito king!
8 November 2007
at 2:15 p.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
KU_cynic (Anonymous) says…
Why are there so few Friday classes?
1. Professors like Friday off so they can all have three-day weekend WHEN they travel to academic conferences (which is several times a year) and minimize disruption to their teaching schedules.
2. Professors need a relatively unstructured weekday to coordinate committee meetings with other colleagues with diverse teaching schedules, hence Friday. A few schools have M,TH and T,F classes with Wednesday being such a day.
3. Professors want to teach twice a week at most. Combined with the above reasons, the preferred schedules are M,W or T,TH. Nobody wants to teach three 50-minute classes on M-W-F instead of two 75-minute classes.
Instead of more Friday classes KU should routinely schedule extra- and co-curricular events on Fridays that would engage the students — guest lectures, cultural events, service activities, and other co-curricular activities (including some that students could be required to do in conjunction with their coursework). — and students would develop a culture of getting involved instead of checking out (and drinking). That would take imagination and leadership, however, which are scarce up on snob hill.
8 November 2007
at 2:36 p.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
George_Braziller (Anonymous) says…
Guess Kyle must not be paying his own tuition. I carried a full load of classes while working a 3/4 time job so that I could afford to go college. I tried to cram all of them into the morning so that I enough time to work. No classes on Friday wasn't an option.
“You try to schedule away from Friday classes,” said KU senior Kyle Weinstein as he walked out of Quinton's last week. “When you do have them, you schedule them as late as possible. I had a Friday class one semester, and I didn't go to it once.”
8 November 2007
at 4:04 p.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
flyin_squirrel (Anonymous) says…
When I was in school, Wednesday was the night to start drinking. This allowed us Wed thru Sat to go out and gave us Sun, Mon and Tues to study.
8 November 2007
at 4:23 p.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
plasticJHawk (Anonymous) says…
my teachers always complained that we didn't have enough class periods to cover the material we needed to learn. We had class MWF and had a mandatory 2 hour discussion one night, That's 5 hours of classtime a week for a 3 hour class. I never didn't have class on Friday and I usually had at LEAST 3 Friday classes. Maybe this is the difference between studying Chemical Engineering most other fields, but honestly it was effected for educating the students, though I definitely wouldn't say it kept us out of the bars on Thursday Friday and Saturday nights, really it just taught us the value of studying through a hangover.
Truth is, we need more class periods in order to get the education we are paying for. We should have classes on Fridays as well as every other day, and the classes need to be challenging. Maybe the real problem here is that our education system has become so watered down with teachers who would rather be viewed as nice because they need good reviews at the end of the semester or else they won't get tenured.
8 November 2007
at 7:26 p.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
busymom (Anonymous) says…
Who cares. The drinkers? Guess what time to grow up :), if you drink on a school night be prepared to go to class the next day. And if you miss class, take the blame. “I woke up late,” It's not my fault.” Oh, and it's also becoming a trend that people in college think they've paid for a grade, you're right, you did. An F is a grade too. And what about the underage drinkers who are acquiring fake ids to consume alcohol on Thursday nights. Now, that is something to focus on. Or how they are traveling after the binge drinking. Whether they go to class is the students responsibility, not the University's.
8 November 2007
at 9:40 p.m.
Suggest removal
Permalink
budwhysir (Anonymous) says…
Poor college students, its not thier fault,