Take a Break

students line up for tacos

Photo by Carl Socolow '77.

Regional study breaks offer an escape from crunch-time

by Tony Moore; video by Joe O'Neill

Everyone loves taking finals: those long hours of exams, the stress, sleepless nights stacked up like textbooks … wait, what?

OK, no one loves finals week. But really, when students dive into this annual challenge, they’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel: Summer vacation is here, and everyone is that much closer to graduation. But for students who want a taste of home as they close in on the real thing, Dickinson offers regional study breaks—little lights shining halfway down the finals-week tunnel.

Regional study breaks are just that: finals-week study breaks that provide respites themed for various regions of the U.S. They kicked off last year with a single Midwest-themed break, which treated about 30 Midwesterners to Chicago deep-dish pizza and Wisconsin cheese curds.

After last year’s success, the program was expanded, and the Midwest break (again hosted by Chicago transplants Josh and Audrey Eisenberg '02, of the offices of Student Life and Advancement, respectively) was joined by the California taco social under the Althouse trellis and the western states campfire and s'mores event (hosted at the home of Oregon native Blake Wilson, professor of music), and Montana native Lynn Helding, associate professor of music).

Next fall, the campus will embrace more regional diversity with the addition of breaks representing the South, Ohio and the Maine/New Hampshire/Vermont region.

Learn more

Published May 6, 2015