I'm feeling generally irritated about the university's academic calendar this semester. In the first place, this was too long to go without any break. Second, suspending classes starting on a Friday after midterms was essentially inviting students to skip Thursday classes. Third, having the break timed so that the week we come back is Passover and Easter week guarantees attendance will be low for another week.  Finally -- it is an outrage to craft an academic schedule for social rather than academic reasons. The timing of St. Patrick's Day and having a cynical expectation for student behavior is controlling the calendar? Are you kidding me? Are those social norms surveys true or not? Let's treat young adults like children, just to reinforce our jaded view, right?

Today is all about putting out fires and sparking a few new ones.