Students love fall break. It’s a chance for them to spend time away from books and PowerPoints, away from notes and quizzes.

It’s an opportunity for those students who aren’t from Kansas to make the trek back home to see family they may not have seen since summer break.

Students love fall break (professors, too), but instead of the four-day funfest we’re all used to – you know what we’re talking about…rest, relaxation, mom’s homemade cookies – we have to resort to a two-day semi-break. That’s barely even worth kicking your shoes off and unpacking all that laundry in the back of your car.

Why the short break you ask? That’s easy. Poor planning. This year, fall break happens to fall (excuse our pun) on the same weekend as the ever-popular Maple Leaf Festival.

Many students are required to be on campus for the festival, including athletes who might have games that weekend and greek chapters that are dependent upon the festival to rack in bucks for their philanthropies.

So, instead of a nice four-day vacation complete with free food and mom’s special folded laundry, most students will probably end up staying on campus partaking in counterproductive activities out of mere boredom. Either that, or they’ll venture home for a short-lived vacation only to make the trip back to Baldwin City all within two days. And if you’re an out-of-state resident, the trip home almost seems pointless.

Really, who planned this? I’m sure the university thought about all of this before officials marked fall break on the calendar. Perhaps the university expected the Maple Leaf Festival to change its date. Because that hasn’t been happening on the same weekend for 50 years or anything.