Three years ago, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse introduced an “extended wellness weekend” as a day without classes on the academic calendar. This addition was intended to address burnout and mental health concerns prevalent during the fall semester. Extended Wellness Weekend has now been removed from his 2024-2025 academic calendar.
The decision to reduce extended wellness weekends made by the Faculty Senate stems from challenges related to certain classes, such as general chemistry and biology with a laboratory component, which will now be held only once a week and It is not possible to hold the event online or change the date.
“We are thrilled to be working with the Center for Counseling and Testing,” said Chris Champion, director of the Counseling and Testing Center. [regarding the removal of Extended Wellness Weekend]. I noticed the same thing as everyone else. ”
Biology professor Bradley Seebach explained how adding holidays complicates academic calendars.
“If we take one day out of our regular rotation and have regular face-to-face meetings for classes, we have classes such as general chemistry and general biology, as well as experimental elements, and classes that meet one day a week are more academically focused. There is little flexibility to make adjustments that would help,” Seebach said.
Deciding to move your lab online doesn’t solve the problem. “If the pandemic has taught us nothing else, it’s that there are types of learning experiences that can’t be done very effectively online.” Mr. Seebach continued.
The Extended Wellness Weekend was created in the fall instead of the spring due to spring break. “We have significantly more students in the fall than we do in the spring…We know that there are more crisis appointments in the fall than in the spring,” Champion said.
Early last spring, when the 2024-2025 calendar was being discussed, the Wellness Week Task Force was established to develop plans for Wellness Week, with the first event held at the midway point of each fall semester. . Held in fall 2024.
The task force consists of five faculty members (one representative from Laboratory Science, one representative from Clinical/Fieldwork specialty, one representative from Visual and Performing Arts, and two general faculty), the Student Association (SA) The committee is made up of five representatives and four general faculty members. I am the representative of the student club.
WWTF was not rushed out of Faculty Senate. In October 2023, SA Vice Chancellor Flores confronted Faculty Senate President Stefan Mann at a Faculty Senate meeting and said: . Why was this committee not held? This is a very important issue for students and for SA. It was said that we would see each other in the spring. ”
The WWTF’s first meeting began on November 2nd, where they received charges from Mann. During the meeting, Flores asked, “Can’t we consider a day off?” Mann’s response was, “No, I can’t think of anything. Consider all options.”
The WWTF decided to split into two subcommittees. The first was to leverage my peer’s relationships with UW System institutions and ask him about their current wellness programs around the middle of the fall semester.
Currently, three schools in the University of Wisconsin System have a break period midway through the fall semester. These schools are University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, and Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
We also recognize that in the fall of 2023, UC River Falls canceled classes due to “people over content” in the wake of multiple student and faculty-related tragedies across campus. It is important.
The goal of the second subcommittee was to develop and administer a survey to collect information about students, faculty, and staff.
The survey asks how Extended Wellness Weekends have been over the past three years, what wellness means to them, what they look for in a wellness program, and whether they’re interested in holidays. This will allow WWTF and other governance groups to make more informed decisions about health on campus.
Professor Flores said, “The second subcommittee is going to conduct a survey on the students, faculty and staff on this campus. So all the stakeholders here are at the same table and everyone has the right to share their feedback. It is thought that there is. So far, it seems that only teachers are affected.
“We don’t naturally hear from students that adding something to their calendar is helpful. In fact, we sometimes hear that they can’t make time for counseling, let alone additional wellness programs,” Champion said. You don’t need to do that.”
For WWTF, trouble began when WWTF Co-Chair Louise Zamparutti sent an email that read:
“We would like to share that we recently spoke with Interim Chancellor Betsy Morgan regarding the WWTF. was said to be a problem. do not have What we can recommend. Our job is to recommend activities, modifications, services, events, and other things that can promote health. ”
“Betsy warned against distributing surveys on UWL campuses that could give people the idea that vacations and non-class days are an option. She also cautioned against sending surveys to other campuses. I gave you some advice.”
“We understand that some of us may have had a different impression when the WWTF first convened. [charges] Don’t explicitly state that you can’t choose your holidays. However, this became clear in a meeting with Betsy. Going forward, instead of canceling classes, the focus should be on offering fun and relaxing ways to create a health-focused week. ”
Joe Anderson, a costume and makeup design faculty member in the Department of Theater and Dance, resigned from WWTF shortly after the email was sent. “My understanding was, ‘Oh, we’re looking at this as a possibility,'” he said. [of wellness weekend]. After his three-year trial with Wellness Weekend, is there any chance this could become more permanent?”
he asked at a committee meeting. “What do the students think about this? Did they find anything that was done over the past three years helpful?”
Anderson is aware of the curriculum scheduling issues, but is willing to be flexible. he said: “If we really care about the mental health of our student body, and by extension our faculty, I think we need to approach it in more creative ways.” [a day off] in,”
Anderson joined WWTF to advocate for fall break, not wellness programs. “If I had just talked about programs that we can do to reduce the stress of the fall semester, I don’t think I would have participated because I don’t think that’s necessary…I think everyone does. “I felt caught off guard that way,” he said.
As of February 22nd, the WWTF is at a crossroads. “I think there is interest right now in making SA a joint task force under the Office of the President, so that we can better work together and collaborate across campus,” said SA Chancellor Emma Latus. A solution that works, and where faculty can participate, not just faculty.”
Latus continued, “In my position, I feel that I have the opportunity to hear many voices around campus. Students have made it clear that this is something that will be helpful to them. I value it and it makes a difference in my school year and my mental health.I also think it makes a difference in my education because we become better students when we take time to take care of ourselves. Masu.”
Champion addressed how students can respond to this change. “Students talk about why this happened.” [wellness weekend] is important to them and what this means to them is important… Another thing I would encourage my students to do is to make sure that this day, whether it’s on their calendar or not, is something they care about. Don’t make it seem like you’re doing it. It’s not about themselves… it’s about students being self-motivated, taking responsibility and being personally aware of what their health looks like. ”
