Dead Week adds stress

It comes but once per semester with the promise of a break from the rigors of a normal school week, but for many students, "dead week" is just as stressful as any other time of year.\n"I think dead week is a myth," junior Jeff Taylor said. "Nothing is different this week than any other week during the semester."\nAccording to the IU Bloomington Academic Guide, the official dead week policy states "no major or final examination, except for practical tests at the end of laboratory periods, may be required during the last week of class." \nEstablished by the Bloomington Faculty Council in 1980, dead week -- officially called "free week" -- is part of a larger policy intended to standardize final exam procedures. \nDespite the guidelines, students often find that professors fail to abide by this policy.\n"I have never not had a test or a homework assignment during dead week," senior Hillary Ignaut said.\nBut some professors, such as English Professor Murray Sperber, say they don't give students assignments or tests during the week before final exams. \n"(Dead week) is definitely needed," Sperber said. "It's not fair to the students when final projects or exams are given this week." \nClass instructors often feel the burden of dead week as well, especially if they are students. Junior Jim Ellis balances the duties of being a full-time student with his part-time job as an associate instructor.\n"I have two projects and an assignment due this week, and I'm supposed to give a test to my class on Thursday," Ellis said.\nMany students assume that nothing is supposed to happen in any class during this time, but professors, while barred from requiring final exams during the last week of classes, are allowed to administer quizzes and lab practical exams. \n"I have a 15-page paper due, an assignment and a 15-minute presentation… not to mention working all week," junior Amanda Hardesty said. "I used to think that dead week meant there was nothing going on and it was 'dead' in that sense. However, I now know that it simply means you have a better chance of being dead after it."\nThe Final Exam Policy of the Office of the Registrar adds that during dead week "paper projects may be due only if assigned well in advance." Nowhere does the University specify exactly how much time "in advance" denotes.\nStudents who take final exams during dead week must be given the option of taking the exam on the assigned day during finals week. If a professor does not give the student this option, then he or she is in violation of the dead week policy. \nWith exams to study for and projects due at the end of a semester, overworked students often feel like the rules of dead week are not followed.\n"I'd say very few (professors) acknowledge the existence of dead week," Ellis said.\nFor more information about exam policies, visit the Academic Guide at www.indiana.edu/~deanfac/acadguid.\n-- Contact staff writer Jacob Surface at lsurface@indiana.edu.