Columns

SWASING | Give Me a Break

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In recent years, there has been a push from newer generations of workers for better work-life balance. This was exacerbated by the pandemic, which gave many workers a taste of having more time off and opportunities for remote work. Since then, social media has flooded with content encouraging Gen Z and millennials to reject the 24/7 hustle culture and instead advocate for their own personal time outside of work to be respected. This mindset shift needs to be applied to academics as well. Cornell should protect students’ rights to a real work-life balance rather than maintaining outdated policies that offer little to no protection of students’ personal time during academic breaks.

Columns

MEHLER | The Art of Fall Breaking

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This break is an opportunity to reset your body’s rest clock and finish the second half of the semester even stronger than the first. I cannot say enough that you must take the time to relieve some of the stress going on in your life. The most productive stage of performance is in a tolerable stress range: too much or too little stress leads us to be too comfortable or not comfortable enough to perform well. But breaks do not require us to be at performance stress levels. Breathe, rest and recuperate to come back better.

Editorials

EDITORIAL: Put the ‘Break’ Back in Breaks

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A four-day mid-semester pause from classes would seem to offer ample time for students to recharge and focus on well-being and sleep. Nor is this an accident, as The Faculty Handbook Project makes clear: “Short breaks from academic requirements are intentionally included in the academic calendar to provide rest, respite and a break from schoolwork.” Cornell Health further emphasizes the need for rest, especially sleep, with an entire page dedicated to sleep-related health. It recommends students take 7-9 hours every night to get sleep — which, in its words, “is a necessity, not a luxury.”

But is that consistent with the messages our instructors are sending us? Take, for example, the all-too-common practice of professors assigning work during breaktime. When students get work over break, the obvious implication is that the assigned work should trump any need for a proper break.