As November rolls around, students’ minds shift from midterm stress to more pleasant thoughts of turkey at grandma’s house. But unlike other schools, Columbia and its affiliates only designate Thursday and Friday as University holidays. Because traveling is time consuming, tickets are expensive, and time at home with loved ones seems unfairly short, Columbia should consider extending Thanksgiving holiday to a full week in order to give students a substantial vacation that warrants a pricey airline ticket home.

Students have argued forever that they should be given the Wednesday before Thanksgiving off, but their complaints have met with deaf ears. It’s an unwritten rule that that Wednesday is a lost day of classes—some professors even note on their syllabuses that there will be no class on Wednesday and many students plan not to attend. Professors may make up for the missed class at a later date, however, which becomes inconvenient for busy students who have prior engagements.

Why not officially cancel classes on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving? Better yet, give students the chance to go home for a full week for the holiday at the expense of the Election Day extended weekend, which occurs at an awkward time that is in the midst of midterms and papers. One single, extended fall break would allow students to go home for a substantial period of time. There is a precedent for a full Thanksgiving week at other Ivies, such as Yale, which gives its students more than an entire week off for Thanksgiving. President Bollinger has already decided to cancel his popular Freedom of Speech and Press class on Wednesday, a sure sign that the most powerful man at the University knows that its a waste to try to teach that day. Now the University needs to understand the common sense of cutting Election Day holidays from the calendar and extending Thanksgiving vacation to a true vacation.