Easter Travel Day

I rarely have reason to complain about SMU’s break and vacation policies, which I feel are very generous. However, I think that having Friday, April 2^nd off doesn’t really make much sense for the Easter Holiday. It is more customary to take a Friday off than a Monday but I think in holidays where Sunday is the day of celebration, for most, a Monday seems to make more sense. The whole reason for having the break it to celebrate Easter with your family and friends.

SMU is a diverse community. Professors, students and the administrative staff are comprised of many different religious backgrounds so one could argue that it is not right for Jewish or Muslim student to have their semester broken up by a long break. I am simply stating that if there is a break to be given I think for the majority of student's travel plans a Monday break would be more beneficial. In fact a Monday holiday could actually make the three day weekend less religious because the Friday that is given off is actually Good Friday.

Many Students though live far enough away that they will spend the majority of Sunday traveling to get back for Monday classes. I think Easter should be one of those rare exceptions to take Monday off and hold Friday classes. Do you like the way the calander is set up or do you think the days should be switched?

March Madness

It’s March once again and that means a few things, spring break, the beginning of spring but also March Madness. Every year the tournament is full of surprises, which it what keeps people coming back for more. However, years like this make me want to almost want to never fill out a bracket again. How could I have expected Kansas to be upset by UNI? How could anyone have expected that?

ESPN.com reports that 39.96% of people who filled out brackets on their website picked Kansas to win it all. That compares to only 28% of people who picked North Carolina to win it last year. I am currently in the 9^th percentile of ESPN contestants with at least two of my final four teams, as well as my champion already eliminated. No one on ESPN had a perfect bracket after two rounds. However, one CBS bracket contestant, an autistic kid from Chicago was perfect after two rounds. Unfortunately, amidst the craziness his bracket is no longer perfect.

College basketball is becoming more competitive because of advances in recruitment and increased standards to get in to college. Many students continue to play sports in order to receive scholarships or academic opportunities than they once did. Now mid-majors, conferences comprised of smaller student populations, have started competing with the BCS conferences. This added level of competition, absent even ten years ago, has made picking brackets substantially more difficult.

Due to the increased competition and more comparable levels of play the NCAA has mentioned a possibility of expanding the tournament to 96 teams. ESPN speculates on what a 96 team bracket would even look like. I do not think it will happen before next tournament but if Cinderella teams continue advancing and upsetting majority favorites than I don't think this move would be too far out of the question. The NCAA, like any business, is trying to hype their event as much as possible and a 32 team expansion would do just that.