Last year, sophomore Clayton Alexander used Dead Day to study and catch up on sleep.

“It was pretty much a lazy day to rest and calm down before tests,” he said.

Without Dead Day, Alexander feels like he’s diving into finals earlier and will have to wait until after finals for a day of rest from school and tests this semester. 

In previous years, Dead Day was a free day built into the university’s academic calendar between the last day of official classes and the first day of semester finals.

“We had to adjust the calendar this year, and getting rid of Dead Day this year was just an unfortunate consequence,” Judy Smrha, assistant dean for institutional effectiveness, said. “However, the 2010 calendar is up online and a Dead Day has been worked in.”

The day is meant to be used for students to catch up on some last-minute studying and sleep. However, some have used it as a way to celebrate instead.

"People really did not all use Dead Day to study," senior Rachel Kilian said. "It was mostly a day to celebrate the end of the semester. Though that is something you can do anytime of the year."<br/>Faculty and staff used the day off to their advantage as well as to catch up on work, grades and prepare for upcoming finals.Faculty and staff used the day off to their advantage as well as to catch up on work, grades and prepare for upcoming finals.
Faculty and staff used the day off to their advantage as well as to catch up on work, grades and prepare for upcoming finals.

“I used Dead Day as a day to get ready for finals or get caught up on any last-minute grading,” Rand Ziegler, vice president and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said. “It takes a lot of work to make a final. Making up an essay question is easy, but it is the multiple choice that is hard.”

Besides using the day as a way to look over some more notes, sophomore Ally Voss helped out around the community.

“Last year I did community service and used the day to study,” Voss said. “I guess this year I have to just deal with not having Dead Day, even though I am not happy about it.”

For now, Alexander will just have to live without a Dead Day – at least for now.<br/>"I am upset we do not have Dead Day this year, but there is no way around it," he said."I am upset we do not have Dead Day this year, but there is no way around it," he said.
“I am upset we do not have Dead Day this year, but there is no way around it,” he said.