If Sen. Clayton Zimmerman had a 7:30 a.m. final this semester, he would have to wake up at 4 a.m.
Zimmerman said he likes to have at least three hours before a test to regroup and focus. He was one of several ASUI senators who supported a bill that would eliminate 7:30 a.m. tests from the University of Idaho final exam schedule.
Sen. Catherine Yenne, one of the bill’s sponsors, assumed the bill would receive almost universal support from her fellow members of ASUI. She said she was surprised to hear that some of her fellow senators did not support the legislation.
ASUI Pro-Tempore Mattie Cupps said she was against the bill for several reasons. She said she, and some other students she spoke with, would prefer to take their finals earlier in the morning than in the evening, because that way she could just get it over with and not deal with the anxiety all day.
Cupps also said the students who get stuck with 7:30 a.m. finals have classes that are early anyway. The latest a class can be scheduled and still get a 7:30 a.m. final is 9:30 a.m. So the students in question are already used to getting up early.
Sen. Nina Rydalch, who also works for The Argonaut, said while two hours might not seem like much, it can make a big difference to the students who are used to getting up at 9 a.m. for a class and suddenly have to wake up at 7 a.m. or earlier for their final.
Cupps argued as well that college students should get used to waking up early in the morning, because realistically after graduating, they will be expected to go to work early almost every day. Sen. Haleigh Sims-Douglas echoed this statement and said once she graduates she will probably have to get up at 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. every morning.
“I’m a little bit of a tough love kind of person,” Cupps said.
Finally, Cupps said she disagreed with wording in the bill that referred to students as “teenagers.” She said college students are adults and should be expected to act like them.
“I would like to point out that you can be an adult and a teenager at the same time,” Sen. Danny Bugingo said. “I’m doing it right now.”
The topic of 7:30 a.m. final times was previously discussed in Faculty Senate. McKenzie MacDonald said they discussed how 7:30 a.m. finals impact faculty as well as nontraditional students who have children they need to deal with early in the morning.
Faculty Senate supported eliminating 7:30 a.m. finals, but other ASUI senators expressed concern that Faculty Senate’s thoughts were in concern of faculty and ASUI needs to represent the students’ interests.
Rydalch said she talked with students in her living groups about the bill, and every student except one supported it. She said despite this, she would like to go back to her living groups and discuss it again after she learned that the latest classes that may have 7:30 a.m. finals were 9:30 a.m. classes.
Sen. Jordan Kizer said he did not talk to his living group about this, but that he wanted to now because he thinks that student input is what the senate needs to make an informed decision on the bill. He proposed ASUI table the discussion until next week so the senators would have a chance to see what other students thought. The rest of the senate agreed and postponed the vote.
Erin Bamer can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @ErinBamer