Being a college student can bring strain and hardship. Dealing with difficult professors, managing an adequate GPA and trying to find time for a social life can result in more stress than it’s all worth.

By this time of year, I’m sure we have all taken a few midterm exams, conquered a project and written some papers.

While this usually results in more stress and anxiety, we have to keep going regardless, which makes me think the title “student” is more than I’ve bargained for.

Our academics are deemed so important to our future we don’t seem to have any time to relax, especially during the fall semester.

Attending public school is unfair compared to private school since many private school students do not have to deal with these unbearably long first semesters. They are lucky enough to have a fall break in the middle of the first semester, something most public universities need as well, for the sake of it’s students.

Information systems senior Ralph Murphy and junior Jordan Roberts are currently working on a group project for their IS 344 class. Although it’s a three-credit class, Murphy said it seems like five credits-worth of work.

Roberts said the papers she writes take up a lot of time, and the information regarding the paper is taught after the paper is due.

“Unless you do research ahead of time, you’re still not given enough time to write the paper,” Roberts said.

With all the things that college students have going on, some professors seem to expect students to always be studying and doing assignments with virtually all the free time they have.

A fall break would help professors take a break from grading and preparing lectures, and also help students catch up with their lives outside of college.

Roberts said on top of the two group meetings twice a week, she spent three and a half hours working on a code for the project that is used to move to different locations on websites.

“So far between yesterday and today, I’ve put six hours into it,” Roberts said. “And we probably have two and a half or three hours left of work.”

When you add a job and try to have a social life, Murphy said it is a lot to take on.

“College kids are stressed enough,” Roberts said. “Sometimes you just need to relax. Just two hours a day even isn’t enough. You need an extended period of time to calm down.”

A fall break would offer great incentives, even including career benefits.

For those students that graduate in December, a fall break could provide the time to meet with potential employers before they graduate. This Friday for example, Murphy has an interview at 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. that he has to take off work and class for.

Many UW-Eau Claire students like Roberts and Murphy are spending tireless hours writing papers and studying for exams, which leaves them no time to even think about how they spend their weekend.

Having a fall break would reduce stress, help students succeed and give them time to relax. Especially since our lives do not solely revolve around school.

In 2012, Yale University made a change to their academic calendar to include a fall break, which takes place in the middle of October. One of the main reasons the university decided to do this was because of the intensity of 11 or 12 weeks straight of classes on freshmen students.

Similarly, I believe Eau Claire should implement a fall break to give students time to relieve stress and enjoy life outside of academics.