The University will cancel classes on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving "on an experimental basis" during the 2010 to 2011 and 2011 to 2012 academic years in response to consistently low attendance rates, according to University President Jehuda Reinharz.Reinharz made the decision to change the schedule at last week's faculty meeting. The Faculty Senate Task Force spearheaded the initiative.

The University will only cancel classes on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving on an experimental basis for the next two academic years because it is possible to make the schedule change without losing any teaching days, Reinharz said in an interview with the Justice.

After [2010 and 2011], we will probably have to bring [the idea of canceling classes on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving] back to the faculty and ask them what choices . they want to make in terms of the teaching schedule," Reinharz said.

Professors will "try [canceling classes on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving] and evaluate the impact of the decision," Provost Marty Krauss said in an interview.

At a faculty meeting in December, Herzfeld presented her analysis of the academic calendars for the next 12 years, and demonstrated that it would only be difficult to make the Wednesday before Thanksgiving a holiday in 2012 and 2018.

However, Prof. Judith Herzfeld (CHEM), a member of the task force, said in an interview that"if what happens instead is that Tuesday becomes difficult [and students miss class], this experiment will be over in the blink of an eye,"

Herzfeld said the schedule change is also variable. Although the University intends to compensate for canceling classes on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving by adding one day to the beginning or end of the fall semester in 2010 and 2011, adding one extra day to make up for the lost Wednesday would not be sufficient in 2012 and 2018. In those years, the University already plans on canceling five to six days of classes for Jewish holidays, she said.

A potential solutions to scheduling conflicts in 2012 and 2018 would entail starting fall semester earlier, Herzfeld said.

Without canceling classes on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving in 2012, the fall semester ends on Dec. 20 or 21, according to University Registrar Mark Hewitt. With the extra day off, the semester would not end until Dec. 23."That is quite late, and it puts a burden on students who have exams [and are] trying to travel before Christmas," Hewitt said.

Although he says he always teaches class on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Prof. Timothy Hickey (COSI) said that over 50 percent of students are typically absent. "I always have to make it some kind of an optional class," Hickey said.

"I skip class because I have to get home [to New Jersey] in time," Esther Yi '11 said.