For college students juggling busy schedules, life on campus is full of temptations, including going out on Thursday nights. Some students even claim that Thursday night is the rowdiest night of the week, earning it the nickname "Thirsty Thursday."
The New York Times recently wrote about the Thursday-night phenomenon on campuses nationwide. Whereas in the past college students attended classes five days a week — sometimes six — today many students schedule their coursework between Monday and Thursday. When students find their Fridays wide open, or nearly so, they're tempted to let loose a day early, and this fact has some administrators wheezing and wringing their hands.
Why are so few classes scheduled on Friday? The New York Times suggested that the four-day week, three-day weekend of many colleges began in the early 1970s with the oil embargo, when universities tightened schedules to save energy. Faculty members no longer requested Friday classes, and students didn't complain. Just as professors love the long weekends, students have grown to love Thursday nights.
A quick online scan of the University of Wisconsin spring semester timetable revealed that there are entire departments that don't schedule any Friday classes. The Dean of Students Office declined to estimate how many classes are offered on Fridays at UW as opposed to on other days, nor was the Dean of Students available for comment. The timetable showed that of the relatively few offerings on Friday, many were special seminars and directed research.
Some administrators interviewed in the Times article portrayed college life as divided squarely between hitting the books and hitting the bottle, but that's an over-simplification. Nothing says more about people than how they choose to spend their time; with only 24 hours in a day, each of us decides what is most important to us and prioritizes accordingly. I'd bet that for most college students, studying and going out are not the only factors in the equation.
The real issue at the center of the Thursday-night debate is one we all have to deal with: time management. Should you do your assigned reading or go to the basketball game? Hit the library or hit the SERF? Should you get involved in community service? Are you willing to take on a job or extra-curricular activity if it will cut back on your time to party? What if you have to work to pay your tuition? Ask people how they balance their time, and you'll learn a lot about what they value.
For many students, college is the first taste of life away from home. Suddenly, they're managing their lives without constant supervision, which can at least partially explain the beer-stained carpeting and piles of dirty laundry characteristic of so many student apartments. Independence isn't always conducive to wise decision-making, but ultimately it's a matter of personal responsibility. If students can balance their academic workloads sufficiently to free up Thursday nights, so what?
Most students wouldn't go out on Thursdays if it hurt their grades — which brings me to my next point. There are easy and hard classes, and professors grade differently from one another; yet grades are supposed to be a reflection of how well we've mastered specific material. If administrators are concerned with the amount of time they suspect we're going out, maybe they need to ask: What demands are universities placing on students? (If you're getting all A's, why not go out every night?)
Recent studies have indicated that grade inflation is a trend at colleges all over the United States. Unfortunately, if professors are dishing out easy A's they're really doing students a disservice by sending false signals of accomplishment. If you're planning further education such as law, business or medical school, you'll have to take LSATs, GMATs or MCATs. You certainly hope your grades have accurately measured your performance and you're prepared for these tests. If you're stopping with an undergrad degree, you hope you've received the education that your grades indicate.
For administrators gasping and clearing their throats about Thursday night parties, I suggest they shift their concern from empty Friday class schedules to grade inflation. Manipulating schedules won't change student behavior. You'll always find students who paint the town red, wake up looking green and can't make it to class. But as students struggle to budget their time, are universities giving them a false picture of how well they're doing?
Cynthia Martens ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in Italian and European studies.
