Changes on the Horizon for SBU Academic Calendar

A university committee tasked with maximizing the timing of school holidays with respect to their impact on class time has proposed a number of academic calendar amendments that will take effect in the fall of 2012, according to a report in The Stony Brook Press.

A university administrator last week delivered a presentation on the proposed changes that would make the calendar "consistent and predictable from year to year with as much equal recognition and respect as possible for our diverse campus community that provides maximum instruction for students in the most efficient and effective manner."

Among those proposed changes are the scheduling of finals on weekend days and discontinuing the university's typical suspension of classes for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Rabbi Joseph Topek told The Stony Brook Press he feels that change would have a negative effect, forcing students to beg their professors for time off for those holidays.

"Those will end up being empty days because a lot of students and faculty will not show up. It will damage Stony Brook’s image in the community," Topek said.

Click here to read the full story from The Stony Brook Press.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect the correct spelling of Rabbi Topek's name.