EDITORIAL – Friday the new Thursday?

A recent study by the University of Missouri found that students with Friday classes drank… A recent study by the University of Missouri found that students with Friday classes drank half as much as students who started the weekend early. In response to this incredible finding, administrators at the University of Iowa have decided to do the unthinkable: They’ve created a monetary-incentive program to entice departments in the University’s college of liberal arts and sciences to switch classes to Friday.

The program, which will begin next fall, will pay departments $20 per student switched per class – and not just any class. According to a column in the Daily Iowan, the departments can only receive the incentive for extending to Friday certain classes that in the past have been taught on days other than Friday. The course must also fulfill University of Iowa’s general education requirements or be historically popular and must enroll at least 22 students (that’s $440 in monetary terms).

At Iowa, much like at Pitt, Fridays are traditionally unpopular days for classes, as students – as well as faculty members – enjoy the weekend jumpstart. But, as the study findings suggest, some students use the extra weekend night as an excuse to head to the bars – a phenomenon known as “Thirsty Thursday.”

Iowa administrators’ rationale was most likely that by scheduling more popular and – in some cases – required classes on Fridays, students who, in the past, had been able to avoid Friday scheduling in favor of long weekends and an extra night at the bar will be forced to stay in on Thursdays, studiously writing papers and pouring over their textbooks.

The problem with the program is that it’s not offering the right incentive to the right people. Are the departments seriously going to give into this nonsense? How much revenue will they realistically generate from a couple of switched lecture hall classes? An extra cheese plate at the faculty luncheon? A computer in the department’s library?

The plan also suggests a certain condescending “administrators know best approach.” It’s like the University thinks it can just pull the wool over the students’ eyes. “Haha! We got you. Try going to the bar now!”

The most realistic, but least likely, incentive for Friday scheduling would be to offer the money to students themselves. While $20 can barely pay for one “Thirsty Thursday,” maybe it would be enough to attract some students to the merits of Friday classes.

And if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. College students like to drink. This phenomenon has been going on for decades, believe it or not. We also like having our Fridays off for other, non-alcohol induced activities, like going home for the weekend, catching a movie or actually studying.

Rather than spending the time and money implementing the Friday scheduling program, we suggest that the University of Iowa rethinks its policies. What do the students want? What would be the most effective strategy to curb binge drinking? These are all questions that need to be asked by both administrators and students in order to really tackle the trend of binge drinking on campus.