Guilford’s fall semester runs for 14 weeks, and within that time, there’s one stretch many students consider the most pointless of the year: the week and a half between Thanksgiving and winter break.

This year, after Thanksgiving break, students return for about nine days before leaving again—often fewer for many. The time is reserved for the final days of classes and exams.

For students, especially those who live out of state, the process of leaving only to come back again can feel overwhelming.

I’m an out-of-state student from Oklahoma. While I’m fortunate to have family members in North Carolina so I don’t have to fly home twice, doing the back-and-forth still isn’t ideal. I only go home to Oklahoma for winter break, since leaving and returning for Thanksgiving would be too much.

Junior Max Kiederer, who is from New York, also travels long distances to get home.

Kiederer believes all exams should be completed before Thanksgiving, allowing students to leave and not return until January.

“It’s more cost-effective. Having to drive home and back and figure out when I’m leaving is a lot,” Kiederer said.

The extra week can also create challenges for in-state students, such as senior Melah Melton. Melton works at Harris Teeter when she goes home to Albemarle, about an hour from Greensboro.

“It’s really weird being like ‘I can work this week [for Thanksgiving break] then don’t schedule me after that until I come back a week later,’” Melton said.

Like many students, Melton thinks returning in January would be much more practical.

“It would have been a little stressful at the end of the semester, but if we paced it out far enough, I feel like it would have been fine,” she said.

More professors are now giving exams before Thanksgiving or assigning papers due online during finals week. I only have one in-person final, with the rest of my classes holding presentations to showcase our work.

“It’s pointless in the fact that when we come back, it’s barely a week, especially if you don’t have any physical exams,” Melton said.

Still, the week isn’t entirely without value. It can offer students more time to study and finish assignments.

Alex Needham, a junior and Greensboro resident, believes the days between breaks are important. Thanksgiving break, she said, allows students to breathe.

“[The last week] allows for time to reset ourselves and get a break between the chaos that piles up after fall break and the busy week leading to the end of the semester,” Needham said.

Needham also thinks finals week should be dedicated solely to exams, not a mix of instruction and testing. Kiederer agrees. In addition to the week after break, students have reading days before exams begin—time Kiederer feels could be used differently.

“I would prefer not having the reading days, and instead we start finals right away,” he said.

Whether returning for a short stretch after Thanksgiving is seen as pointless or practical, students agree the conversation is worth having with Guilford’s administration.

“We’re the ones that actually have to sit here and do these things,” Melton said.