Class after Super Bowl? IU students hope not

What do Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the day after the Super Bowl have in common? Besides falling on the first day of the work week, not much. But freshman Zac Foutz and more than 4,000 other students hope that, like MLK Day, IU students can take the day off after the big game. \nFoutz created the Facebook group "Petition for IU to cancel classes after Super Bowl Sunday!" -- which, despite starting as a joke, has created quite a stir around campus. \nDue to the popularity of the Facebook group, Foutz created an actual petition he will submit to IU Dean of Students Dick McKaig on Friday. \nFoutz said he decided to pursue the petition when he started to receive e-mails and messages from people who were serious and who gave him advice on how to go through with the petition.\nAlthough more than 4,000 students have signed the petition, others do not actually believe that getting the day off is feasible.\n"I'd love to see it happen, but I doubt that the University will give us the day off," sophomore Alex Damron said. "Since I'm not a Colts fan or a Bears fan, I'd probably just use the day to sleep."\nWhile many students support the movement, some faculty members think the push \nis misguided.\n"I think if we cancel classes we would only be hurting students," journalism professor Jim Bright said. "We need to be held to the same standards as the other major universities. I just think it would be a big mistake."\nBut many other Indiana establishments are celebrating -- or recuperating -- by taking Monday off. \nHeritage Christian, an Indianapolis private school, has announced the cancellation of classes on Super Bowl Monday, along with many other Indianapolis businesses. \nBall State also has a similar Facebook group called "CANCEL CLASSES AFTER SUPERBOWL SUNDAY," which currently has more than 2,500 members. \nFoutz knows his efforts might be in vain.\n"I don't think the odds of this happening are too great," Foutz said. "It will at least allow the dean to acknowledge what we are doing." \nMcKaig said he has been informed of the petition by a co-worker and also by students during the "Keg With Dean McKaig" event last Thursday, but Foutz said McKaig will not officially receive the petition until Friday. Foutz plans to hold a rally of students Friday at 3 p.m. in the Teter Quad courtyard. Foutz hopes the students can walk to McKaig's office to present the petition together.\nAlthough McKaig will receive the petition, IU President Adam Herbert has the final say in the issue. McKaig believes the odds of Herbert granting a day off are very slim, but he applauds the cohesiveness of the students in what he believes is a time of societal diversity. \n"I think it is pretty cool," McKaig said. "One of the things in reality now is that there seems to be so much difference that there aren't things that draw communities together like they once did. But sports remain one of those activities that seem to have a community impact." \nMcKaig could only recall one other time at IU when the administration canceled classes and that was a result of poor weather conditions. Those missed classes were made up on Saturdays. The University did not cancel classes the day of or the day after Sept. 11, 2001.\nA better petition would include a suggested time to make up the missed classes since many teachers have lectures planned out months in advance, McKaig said. \n"We have to remember that the primary mission here is education," McKaig said. "There is an education function that has got to go on. In real life, you can't make up time that is gone. Maybe the petition would make more sense if the students propose to cancel Monday classes and hold them all on Saturday, but I don't think many students would sign that petition."\nRegardless of the chances, Foutz still plans on pushing the petition and is now using the media as his biggest ally. Foutz said that he is sending information to many local media outlets to get them involved. IU Student Television has noted the petition, and the Indianapolis Star covered Foutz's petition last week. Indianapolis news station RTV 6 is doing a piece on the Ball State petition this week.