BREAKING: FACING PRESSURE FROM STUDENTS, WARTBURG AMENDS WINTER TERM SCHEDULE

SILVIA OAKLAND, TRUMPET EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
RYAN REEBENACKER, KNIGHT WIRE CO-MANAGER

After actions taken by Wartburg Student Senate, Wartburg College has amended its Winter Term schedule.

Wartburg will begin second semester classes on Jan. 18, 2021 according to an email sent by President Darrel Colson at 6 a.m. on Nov. 12, 2020. The email outlined additional changes, including mental health days which were proposed by Student Senate earlier in the fall. 

“I am so proud of the efforts our team put forward to advocate for these mental health days that are now incorporated into the updated calendar,” Emma Williams, student body vice president, said after the email was released.

The changes to the Winter Term calendar include eliminating Winter Break for smaller breaks on Feb. 9, Feb. 24, and both Good Friday and Easter Monday in early April. Final exams and activities will take place from April 22 to April 27. May Term will begin on May 3 and May Term finals will take place on May 26 and 27. The Blessing of the Seniors Service and Commencement will take place on May 30, however no final decisions have been made about the actual ceremony. RICE day celebrations have already been cancelled.

The changes also come after the Wartburg Trumpet adorned its Tuesday paper’s front page with quotes gathered from a Student Senate survey which voiced frustrations regarding the lack of breaks in the original Winter Term schedule. The quotes were from a survey sent to Wartburg students by Student Senate on Oct. 19 to collect student feedback on the college’s original Winter Term schedule. Below are the details of both the original schedule, and the Student Senate survey.

RELATED: STUDENT SENATE SEEKING STUDENT FEEDBACK ON WINTER TERM SCHEDULE

“We are less than two weeks away from the end of classes, a landmark we wouldn’t have reached but for your dedication to this community. You embraced the spirit of Knights Care, and you observed the protocols—not perfectly, I know, as none of us did, but sincerely and successfully,” Colson said in the email. “On behalf of all members of the community who fall into one of those higher-risk categories, I want to thank you—deeply and profoundly—for your perseverance.”

Colson ended the email by encouraging the Wartburg community to continue following health and safety guidelines from the college.

Click here to read the email in full.