When it comes to holiday breaks, Oakton has always been different. Thanksgiving break is only two days off of school, meanwhile, winter break is six weeks off. 

These breaks are different than a typical four-year college, and many students view it as a blessing and a curse. Some see it as an opportunity to get some extra cash, while others see it as more time without their friends at different schools. 

One school, The University of Illinois, gives their students a full week off of school, but only five weeks of winter break instead of six. Depaul University has a smaller break than Oakton, they only give two days for Thanksgiving, and only three weeks for winter break.

Student, Fianne Charvet dislikes the different schedule, especially for Thanksgiving break. “Only having two days off is inconvenient because my family comes into town for the whole week, and so do my friends. However, I’m only available for two of those days,” Charvet said. 

Charvet also dislikes Oakton’s winter break towards the end of break. “[…] our winter break is way longer than my friends’ break,  so once they leave I still have a couple weeks of break left to do nothing,” Charvet said. 

Charvet would rather even out the two holiday breaks. “I would prefer a long Thanksgiving break in exchange for a shorter winter break because that’s how it is for my family and friends,” Charvet said.

Student Peter Halkias agrees with Charvet in the sense that Thanksgiving break leaves less time to spend with family. “Having a shorter Thanksgiving break makes things a little complicated for me, because my brothers and I plan on driving up to Michigan to visit our Mom for the holiday,” Halkias said. 

Halkias does, however, see the bright side of having a long winter break. He sees it as an opportunity to make some money. “I’ll have more time to work over the break, so I’ll be able to make some extra cash during the extended time off,” Halkias said. 

Halkias also prefers a longer Thanksgiving break in exchange for a shorter winter break because, “I think it would be nice to have more time during Thanksgiving break to see family,” Halkias said.

Student Emily Tracy agrees with Halkias that Thanksgiving break is too short because it doesn’t “[…] give me more time to spend with family,” Tracy said. 

When it comes to winter break, however, Tracy only sees positives. “I think the long winter break will allow me to visit friends that I wouldn’t have thought I would’ve been able to visit before,” Tracy said. 

Tracy is also going to use the extended winter break to mentally prepare for the spring semester and gain some, “[…] more opportunities to work longer hours,” Tracy said.

Although she enjoys the long winter break, Tracy wouldn’t mind sacrificing a few of those days in order to lengthen her Thanksgiving break. “I would like a day or two more of Thanksgiving break in exchange for the long winter break. I think it would give me more time to relax and the tradeoff between the two wouldn’t be that bad,” Tracy said.