Oh dead week, five days full of studying and working on projects, without having to worry about going to classes, taking quizzes, tests and getting new assignments... unless you go to the University of Oklahoma.
The University of Oklahoma has an undead dead week. Meaning, there are still quizzes, tests, new assignments and new material being covered during the week before finals. Although the university states that none of these things are supposed to occur during dead week and classes are supposed to serve as reviews of the course, that rarely happens.
However, how dead week is currently structured, there is no way to regulate what professors do or don't do during the week. It's not uncommon for professors to jam in extra lectures or quizzes during dead week that we ran out of time for during the traditional semester.
While it can be a good week to play catch up for both professors and students, it is not in fact a traditional dead week. In that case, why continue to insist that this week is any different than every other week of the semester? Why treat this dead week as a special treat for students, when in reality it is just as stressful (if not even more so) than any other week out of the semester.
I am not advocating for a real dead week, for while that may be nice I don't think it is entirely necessary. Though if it is not a traditional dead week, that needs to be made clear to both students and faculty. Not only that, but if the week is not truly dead, review sessions should be in place for the upcoming finals week. Review and study sessions can be really helpful for students but not for others.
Should these classes be mandatory? For many students, being able to ask questions to the professor and being in class for study sessions is really helpful, but for some, it does not help as much as studying on their own.
Finals week and dead week are all about doing your best at the end of the semester. Depending on how you like to study, this is a very personal decision based on how to handle getting ready for possibly the most stressful week of the semester.
Dead week is stressful, for there are so many things to do in a short amount of time and can definitely lead students to feel overloaded but can be manageable as well. Being prepared for this week takes staying on top of your work throughout the semester rather than cramming everything in at the end, which is not something many college students do.
For everyone out there struggling this week, you're not alone and we will make it through with or without a traditional dead week.
