2008 Woodie Awards
Students Need to Reexamine Priorities, Survey Indicates
Ari Mendelson
Issue date: 11/19/07 Section: Features
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Wilf Campus students are always busy. With Judaic Studies morning programs, class, time to eat, optional night seder, and homework, there's hardly a free minute. An online survey about this issue was conducted in the midst of fall 2007 midterms, to which approximately 10% of the students on campus responded. More than half of the respondents indicated they have only 1-3 hours of free time per day. Yeshiva is hardly the typical university; a non-Yeshiva student has at least three times that amount on an average day.
"Organize your priorities, but include down time to exercise and socialize," University Dean of Students Vic Schwartz advised students of the Wilf Campus. "People need to come to terms with the fact that they will be pulled in many different directions all at once." Between all the activities available on campus and 50% of our respondents indicating that they attend a regular night seder for at least one hour each week night, there is no room for "bumming around." Only 15% of students said that their free time consists of a large section of unproductive time. Nearly 60% of students responded that school work takes up the largest part of free time daily, and almost 70% responded that they go to bed between midnight and 2 am.
These factors constitute an extremely busy day without taking into account multiple time consuming midterms or finals. As students become increasingly acclimated to the work flow and life as a student at Yeshiva, "[they] figure out how to maximize their time," Dean Schwartz said. Dean Schwartz also emphasized the usual forgotten benefits of napping. "Not getting enough sleep affects your ability to learn. Napping is a very efficient way of making up for a lack of sleep."
The survey asked if Yeshiva students thought that morning programs were at fault for the students' busy days and if altering the days' structure would alleviate some of the stress. Only five percent of the respondents indicated that they would like to see morning programs made optional, showing that Yeshiva students are "committed and here for the right reasons," Dean Schwartz noted. Another option which brought surprising results was to structure a Judaics program like the Beren Campus, where students would not necessarily need to take all their Judaics during the morning hours, but would spread them equally throughout the day with their secular classes. Dean Schwartz said that he has heard several concerns regarding the setup of the Beren Campus Judaics program. "If you are in a certain major, you can never take organic chemistry and certain Judaics courses together because of the systematic scheduling. That is just how the system works."
"Organize your priorities, but include down time to exercise and socialize," University Dean of Students Vic Schwartz advised students of the Wilf Campus. "People need to come to terms with the fact that they will be pulled in many different directions all at once." Between all the activities available on campus and 50% of our respondents indicating that they attend a regular night seder for at least one hour each week night, there is no room for "bumming around." Only 15% of students said that their free time consists of a large section of unproductive time. Nearly 60% of students responded that school work takes up the largest part of free time daily, and almost 70% responded that they go to bed between midnight and 2 am.
These factors constitute an extremely busy day without taking into account multiple time consuming midterms or finals. As students become increasingly acclimated to the work flow and life as a student at Yeshiva, "[they] figure out how to maximize their time," Dean Schwartz said. Dean Schwartz also emphasized the usual forgotten benefits of napping. "Not getting enough sleep affects your ability to learn. Napping is a very efficient way of making up for a lack of sleep."
The survey asked if Yeshiva students thought that morning programs were at fault for the students' busy days and if altering the days' structure would alleviate some of the stress. Only five percent of the respondents indicated that they would like to see morning programs made optional, showing that Yeshiva students are "committed and here for the right reasons," Dean Schwartz noted. Another option which brought surprising results was to structure a Judaics program like the Beren Campus, where students would not necessarily need to take all their Judaics during the morning hours, but would spread them equally throughout the day with their secular classes. Dean Schwartz said that he has heard several concerns regarding the setup of the Beren Campus Judaics program. "If you are in a certain major, you can never take organic chemistry and certain Judaics courses together because of the systematic scheduling. That is just how the system works."
Viewing Comments 1 - 5 of 5
Matt
posted 11/20/07 @ 9:01 PM EST
"Dean Schwartz responded, "We pay a price when it comes to readings.""
I'm not sure that Dean Schwartz is in a position to make this claim. Especially in light of the fact that there are classes that have tremendous reading lists here. (Continued…)
Ari
posted 11/22/07 @ 7:32 PM EST
"Napping is a very efficient way of making up for a lack of sleep."
Wow! What a smart recommendation! How come I didn't think of that? It takes half a brain to conclude that there's no time for a nap if "More than half of the respondents indicated they have only 1-3 hours of free time per day" (the rest probably have even less) and "almost 70% responded that they go to bed between midnight and 2 am. (Continued…)
Elliot
posted 12/05/07 @ 2:38 PM EST
"Dean Schwartz said that this number "not surprisingly, differs from other colleges, [since] those students have more time and need the money, so statistically the working percentage is much higher. (Continued…)
Anonymous
posted 12/13/07 @ 10:36 PM EST
I am truly sorry that I must inform Matt that his comparing YU reading lists and class demands to UChicago and Columbia is completely bogus. I went to YU once and transferred to Brandeis. (Continued…)
anonymous also
posted 12/19/07 @ 10:34 AM EST
ahh!! This article was very frustrating because it seemed to say we like not having free time. I have NO free time, when OF COURSE we students need the money. (Continued…)
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