By Staff Writer Tighe Ratcliffe.

Chances are that you’re currently bogged down with an overwhelming amount of homework; I’m in the same sinking boat as you. This semester just seemed to go by too quickly to keep up with all of the homework.

And it didn’t help that all my professors pushed back their final projects to the same week; it’s hard to keep up and I’m so close to dropping out at this rate.

But this isn’t just happening to me, a lot of professors have been lenient as to when final projects are to be due, and this leads to procrastination. Procrastination leads to rushed last minute projects. Last minute projects lead to energy-drink-fueled all-nighters. These all-nighters lead to BS’d final assignments (which to be fair is almost 90% of all assignments).

A majority of us do fine, but still it seems like there’s a better way around doing assignments.

What doesn’t work is waiting last minute doing 4-6 courses worth of semester long projects in a matter of a few days. But how can we fix this? Personally I think we should just get rid of term papers unless you have to work on them for, you know, the whole term.

I’ve had classes that actually have check-ins and progress updates on projects throughout the semester.

These allow you to actually research, write multiple drafts, and hand in well developed term papers at the end of the semester.

I’ve also had classes in which the professor basically says good luck with your projects without giving a lot of time or good instructions, asking students to hand in 5-6 page research papers.

These are the worst classes, because if the professor doesn’t even want to put in the effort, then why should I?

For some reason, this semester has just felt so rushed, and it doesn’t help that all of these term papers are due at the same time. My only saving grace is that I’ve handed in every assignment on its actual due date.

Many classes are far too lenient with final due dates though, and this causes a build up of students not handing in work in on time.

And for those unlucky souls who don’t hand in their homework throughout the semester, they’re up the creek without the paddle during this time in the semester.

They have not only their past due assignments, but their term papers to due in a short period of time.

I think there needs to be a change. The way we’re educated clearly doesn’t work very well.

Maybe, and just hear me out, it’s time that we get rid of homework assignments. Instead, maybe we could just focus on term long projects that incorporate all the lessons we’re learning in class.

This would free up time to actually do fun things on campus and not have to worry about missing assignments, and it would give us time to put in maximum effort into these projects.

It would be an easier way for professors to grade us as well, since the projects would truly allow them to see if we understood what they were trying to teach.
Well, it would be nice if things worked this way, but they don’t.

So, grab your favorite energy drink, find a good, quiet and comfortable place, and get ready for several all-nighters. The semester isn’t quite over yet.