ERIC M. JUKELEVICS/Arizona Daily Wildcat

ASUA senator Doug Hartz counts the number of students in a class at McClelland Hall last Tuesday afternoon. Hartz - who wants to develop a proposal for a nine-day Thanksgiving break - found that many classes had been cancelled, and that those in session had low attendance.

Ongoing project reveals students not showing up for classes, professors canceling

Thanksgiving break will last nine days if ASUA senator Doug Hartz has his way.

Hartz and 10 of his co-workers and friends spent the threee days before Thanksgiving taking attendance in classes to determine how many students left early for Thanksgiving break.

He said he hopes the findings will help him make a case for extending the break to include the entire holiday week, thus making summer vacation three days shorter.

Hartz will present the proposal to the Faculty Senate in January or February and also to the Arizona Board of Regents in March or April.

He also wants students at Northern Arizona University and Arizona State University to lobby the regents for a similar change.

Hartz said attendance dropped from between 50 percent and 70 percent on Nov. 19 to between 40 percent and 50 percent on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving.

Of the 25 classes Hartz attended on Wednesday, 10 were canceled.

This week, Hartz and others will take attendance in the same classes, so that they can compare it to attendance on Nov. 19 to 21.

Hartz said classes were a lot fuller yesterday than Wednesday.

"There was a definite increase in attendance," Hartz said. "Classes are more packed, and there are people sitting on the floor. That was not the case at all last week."

Hartz and his friends have counted approximately 2,000 students, with each taking attendance in five to 10 classes a day. They take attendance during the middle of each class.

Hartz has compared the number of students actually attending to the number enrolled in the registrar's records. But that data does not take into account students who have dropped their classes this semester.

Hartz said he will check those numbers soon.

He said he decided to push for a fall break after some of his professors mentioned taking a day off to travel for the holiday, and because of low attendance in his classes.

One of the professors who influenced Hartz was classics Prof. Jon Solomon.

Solomon said he wants students to have the Wednesday before Thanksgiving off, but does not support a week long break.

"There are so many out-of-state students that I think it would be fair to give them a chance to get home," Solomon said.

However, Hartz forsees obstacles in getting an extended break for fall 2002 or 2003.

Asking the state Legislature - which is currently debating the extent of the UA's budget cuts - to continue funding the UA at the same rate while extending vacation time might not go over well, Hartz said.

He hopes by next semester, the budget cut will have been decided and will not be a factor any longer.

"I definitely think (getting an extended break) is feasible once everyone figures out how many students don't go to class that week and how much students need it," said Ray Quintero, president of the Associated Students of the University of Arizona. "Professors will appreciate it as well because it will give professors time to prepare for their finals."

Earlier this month, more than 1,000 students signed Hartz's petition to cancel classes on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving.