The Buena Vista University (BVU) academic schedule includes holding classes on Wednesday, Nov. 22, the day before Thanksgiving. BVU doesn’t have an extended Thanksgiving break because it has a fall break in October instead. Therefore, professors are expected to hold classes and not cancel on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving each year.

“It’s just the way the schedule’s created,” said Dr. Jim Salvucci, Vice President for Academic Affairs. “The university is open the day before Thanksgiving, and we hold classes regularly, and it’s no different than any other day of the semester.”

For some students who are planning to travel out of state to be home with family for Thanksgiving, having classes until well into the afternoon on the day before the holiday can create conflicts.

“Classes were somewhat a part of my decision to not go home due to that being a lot of class time missed,” says freshman Victoria Hodge.

Some students have had to choose between staying for their classes or missing them to travel on Wednesday to be home for Thanksgiving on Thursday.

“My stepmom asked us a month and half ahead of time, and I checked my classes,” said senior Allie Mercer. “Four out of five of my classes said ‘flex day’ on the syllabus. So, I weighed the pros and cons and decided to miss classes to be with my family for Thanksgiving.”

It’s a difficult decision for BVU to make when deciding on the schedule, but ultimately it’s what works best for the university. Salvucci reasons that since it’s a regular class day, it’s unfair to students who have paid tuition to be here, to cancel class.

At the same time, some professors cancel class, but the other ones don’t, so students are still stuck and that puts pressure on them making it a tough situation. Also, faculty who do hold classes often have low attendance in class on that day.

Salvucci said that the Wednesday before Thanksgiving issue is something BVU will continue to think about in the future.