OUR VIEW: Columbus Day would make a nice break

With midterms and projects starting to pile up, this part of the semester can be rather hectic for college students. Luckily, Utah State University students have Thanksgiving Break to look forward to.

Too bad Thanksgiving Break is more than a month away.

While there is no question that USU students get more than enough time off for Christmas Break and receive their fair share of holiday breaks, they need another day off during fall semester.

Unlike spring semester, students have a gaping hole between holiday breaks. With the stresses associated with college life, waiting nearly three months between Labor Day and Thanksgiving Break is unacceptable.

Students need another break, if only for one day, to help keep them sane. College life is very rewarding, but also very challenging. Colorado University has a fall break, the use of which has decreased suicide rates among students.

With this in mind, the university needs to do a better job balancing time off for its students. One idea would be to make Columbus Day (Oct. 14 this year) a university holiday. If this involves having students attend an extra day of classes at the end of the semester, so be it.

On the other hand, students do not necessarily need another day off. Having Columbus Day as a university holiday instead of Labor Day would make sense. After all, having a day off the week after school starts, serves no purpose.

Whichever way one looks at it, the fact remains a day off between Labor Day and Thanksgiving Break would be a welcomed sight. At the very least, the idea should be considered.