What Does Dead Week Look Like This Semester?

The end of the semester is quickly approaching for students at The University of Scranton. Dead Week, the week before final exams, is intended to give students time to study and prepare for all of their tests and projects due at the end of the semester. This year, Dead Week looks a little bit different. The Loyola Science Center (LSC) hallways and study rooms, which would typically be full of students getting work done, were fairly quiet.

However, Caroline Fitzgerald, a first-year nursing major, has been spending more time studying in quiet LSC. She said her Dead Week is mostly preparing for finals week with the exception of a few assignments.

“Personally, I’m just kind of prepping for next week . . . so I can focus on studying,” Fitzgerald said, “I do have a couple of papers to write, but it’s really nothing too bad.”

To help destress during the final two weeks, Fitzgerald plans on getting as much sleep as possible and try to keep all of her work organized.

“I’m going to try to get as much sleep as I can this week because I know I’m not going to be able to next week,” Fitzgerald said. “I think for me, stress management is more about planning things out and writing things down.”

The University closes for the semester on Nov. 26. Fitzgerald said she is sad to be leaving her friends but excited to see her family.

“I’ve been with my friends for [a few] months now,” Fitzgerald said, “But I think being home with my family and dog [will] be nice, too.”

As the semester wraps up, Fitzgerald said she’s ready for some downtime with no school work.

“[I’ve] been doing work every day since August,” Fitzgerald said, “So, I’m ready for a break, academically.” 

Victor Lopez is a junior finance major. Lopez said his Dead Week has not been that busy.

“My Dead Week is pretty relaxed for the most part because we had exams for all of my classes last week,” Lopez said, “[My professors] are letting us relax until the second wave of finals.”

Lopez said he and his friends would normally be spending his time in the Loyola Science Center, but things are different this year because of virtual classes.

“The last two years, me and my roommates would wake up early to get study rooms in LSC and stay really late so we can prepare for finals, but we can’t really do that anymore,” Lopez said.

The entire 15-week semester went by fast for Lopez, and he said he is grateful for this semester.

“I was happy that we had the whole semester [on campus] compared to how it was last spring,” Lopez said, “Everyone got thrown into this whole world that no one knew anything about, but [this semester] I think it was a little easier,” Lopez said.

Lopez is part of the club volleyball team at Scranton. He said that returning to practice has helped to manage his stress during these past few weeks.

“It’s been easier to manage stress near the tail end of the semester,” Lopez said, “[Volleyball] has definitely been a big help in being able to actually get out of my room.”

Apart from volleyball, Lopez is also using his family as motivation to get through the last two weeks of the semester. “I haven’t gone home at all, so I’m dying to go home at this point,” Lopez said.

The University closes for the holiday on Nov. 26 and plans to have students return in early February for the start of the spring semester.