There seems to be a myth going around most college campuses, including Eastern’s, about the first week of a new semester.

Students are going out to the bars and partying like it is the weekend, even if it is only the middle of the week.

Students seem to not take the first week of classes seriously or just skip because they are under the assumption that the only thing a professor will go over is the syllabus.

This so called phenomenon is called “syllabus week.”

It is apparently the week where professors discuss a syllabus for the duration of an entire week.

If professors are only discussing the syllabus, it has to be ok to miss class the first week and waste a few hundreds of dollars of tuition to sleep in or do something else, right?

I just want everyone to know that everything you have been told about syllabus week is a lie.

It is a nonexistent thing, and the first week of classes is actually a week that should be taken more seriously by students.

The first week of the semester allows for students to get into the rhythm of going to class and doing assignments.

It allows for students to meet their professors and get a feel for the class.

It is not out of the ordinary for a syllabus to be discussed the first lecture, but it is not something that takes an entire week to go over.  That would just be wasting valuable class time.

I am a senior this year, and in my time of attending college, I have never experienced syllabus week.  I was assigned homework in more than half of my classes on the first day this semester.

It is crazy to think that students will not take the first week of classes seriously because it is the first week of the semester.

Once a student misses the first class or first week, it just becomes easier for the student to miss more class.

It is something that can lead a student to a downward spiral, and a student can eventually find him or herself in a hole that they cannot climb out of.

Students can see what challenges lie ahead in the rest of the semester in the first week.

Someone would be able to see if they will need help with anything, and he or she can plan ahead by taking advantage of things like The Student Success Center.

It is better to know if you need help at the very beginning of the semester than finding out later on because class is something you did not want to do the first week of the semester. 

So just remember, everything you have been told about syllabus week is definitely not true. 

Go to class and for future semesters, remember to take the first week of classes seriously because syllabus week is not real.

Chris Picazo is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-2812 or denopinions@gmail.com