I’m sure most of you have run into a conversation with your parents or family or someone that you want to spend Easter with: Mom – “Are you coming home for Easter?” You – “No, I don’t have a break then.”

So my question is, why is our spring break a week before Easter? Why do we get a week off at the beginning of March when there are no significant dates involved within (except for my friend’s birthday)?

Why don’t we have spring break a week later, or two weeks later, so that it can coincide with the holiday of Easter?

Well, I don’t know the so-called official reasoning, but when thinking of reasons for this ill-planned break, I came up with the following: 1) the university does not wish to offend those students who do not celebrate Easter; 2) a university member may also have a birthday during the designated dates for our spring break.

But addressing this first supposed reason, I can’t really follow the logic. In order to not offend a certain portion of the campus, we will have a break that cannot be called “Easter break” because it does not coincide with Easter.

In doing so, though, the majority of the campus is left heavily inconvenienced. Although an anticipated counter-argument could be that if Easter was really such a significant event to the majority of students, they could still find a way to return home to celebrate it.

That argument is pretty valid, and if you would like to donate an additional $60 to me for gas money so I can go home one week after the week I will already be home, please contact my editor, and she will tell you where the donation box is located.

I am not saying that the university shouldn’t take into consideration the feelings and beliefs of those students who do not celebrate Easter, but will those students really get offended if our spring recess is one week later than it usually is?

What about the students who do not celebrate Thanksgiving? We still get a week off for Thanksgiving break – though Thanksgiving is not a religious holiday, it is still not celebrated by everyone.

Another possible reason I think may explain why our spring break does not coincide with Easter is because of the law, which mandates a separation between church and state.

However, other universities still plan their spring breaks to coincide with Easter.

What it comes down to is that I do not know the reason why our spring break is planned so as not to coincide with Easter.

I, myself, do not celebrate Easter, but my mom would really like me to be there for the semi-annual family dinner. I just wonder if, in an effort to not offend a minority of students, whether or not heavily inconveniencing the majority of students is the best way.

John Stromski is a junior English major. He can be reached at 581-7942 or at DENopinions@gmail.com.