Since the Friday of Green Key weekend is not considered an official College holiday, the scheduling of class remains at individual professors' discretion. Although some professors have opted not to give exams the Friday before or Monday after the weekend, many others have not adjusted their courses in light of student festivities over Green Key, several professors said in e-mails to The Dartmouth.
Many professors said they were unaware of the dates of Green Key this year largely because the weekend is not listed on Dartmouth's term calendar and therefore did not take the holiday into account when planning their classes.
A number of other professors were aware of the weekend but said it did not impact whether or not they chose to assign work over Green Key.
Thayer School of Engineering professor Simon Shepherd said he has not had difficulty in the past getting students to turn in work on time around Green Key.
"I think students are fairly responsible," Shepherd said. "They know that if they have something due they have to do it beforehand, or face the consequences of not handing something in."
For other professors, however, poor student attendance the Friday of Green Key has led them to cancel classes for that day altogether.
History professor Edward Miller will not hold class on Friday, since few students were present in classes held the Friday of Green Key in past years, he said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
"I used to teach on Friday more out of ignorance than anything else," Miller said. "It took a while but I've come around."
Shepherd acknowledged the possibility that more students skip class the Friday before Green Key. However, because of the large number of students enrolled in his class and the fact that many athletes often miss class on Fridays for away games, Shepherd said he does not observe a significant difference in classroom attendance on the Friday of Green Key from that of other Fridays.
"I haven't experienced anything that shows that Green Key is a wasted few days," Shepherd said. "Maybe I'm being naive, but I haven't had any particular problems."
Miller, who teaches a class together with history professor Ronald Edsforth, also decided to have a lecture class instead of their regularly scheduled discussion session on Monday after Green Key because the professors do not expect that students will be "prepared for discussion."
Since the short length of academic terms at Dartmouth often leaves both professors and students pressed for time, cancelling class on Friday can be a "challenge," Miller said.
Although he described cancelling class as making "a virtue of necessity," Miller added that he has an overall positive attitude towards big weekends at the College.
"I think it's good for the students to have a time to have fun," he said.
Miller added that he often uses the extra time afforded by holiday weekends to catch up on his own work, such as grading.
Shepherd echoed Miller's approval of Green Key, saying that the weekend is an important element of the Dartmouth experience.
"Dartmouth has strong traditions," Shepherd said. "[Events like Green Key] speak towards those traditions and make Dartmouth what it is."
Some professors, however, remain largely apathetic about the holiday.
"I couldn't care less about a big weekend," history professor emeritus and unofficial College historian Jere Daniell '55 said in an interview with The Dartmouth. "I'm 77 years old. I'm not 18."
Although Daniell called scheduling an exam the Monday following a big weekend "a stupid idea," he said he never cancelled class on the Friday of Green Key when he was teaching at Dartmouth. He did not penalize students for missing class that day, however.
"If students didn't show up, fine. I never took attendance," Daniell said. "Students lead their own lives."
