68 per cent of votes were against removing the break for next year

A vote to remove MacEwan’s fall reading break fell flat at Monday’s general faculties council meeting, and the 2025/2026 academic schedule was finalized, with the break untouched. 

The decision marks a significant victory for SAMU, which opposed the motion that would have cut the fall reading break while removing Sunday final exams.

In an interview with the Griff, SAMU vice-president (academic) Darcy Hoogers said he was “thrilled and encouraged by the result.”

“I think that it really shows that the faculty here at MacEwen really do take their student concerns into heart,” Hoogers added before thanking the students who showed up in support. 

The room was at capacity as a cluster of silent student protestors holding picket signs filled seats alongside the members of GFC. An overflow of protestors awaited the news from outside the room. Out of the 58 voting members of GFC, the governing body for MacEwan’s academics, only Hoogers and three others are students. 

While the vote was conclusive, with 68 per cent of GFC members voting against a cut to fall break, it was more of a blowout than SAMU predicted.

“I thought that it would be a bit close,” Hoogers said. “Although the composition of GFC is two-thirds of faculty, there still is a large amount of administration in the room there.”

The Grant MacEwan University Faculty Association (GMUFA) expressed solidarity with SAMU before the vote in a joint message. While there is currently a grievance between the union and the university regarding Sunday work, GMUFA president Bob Graves expressed concerns about the vote. 

“I think that we do not want to pit the interest of students against the language of the collective agreement,” Graves said during the meeting.

Before the vote, there was debate around the decision. Faculty, administration, and students all showed concerns over mental health.

A number of GFC members, including Joshua Toth from the department of English, Hoogers, SAMU president Gabriel Ambutong, and other students, expressed concerns about the lack of consultation from the university.  

“The fact that this motion is here on this floor, without this consultation, indicates that we’re moving too fast in terms of growth, or it indicates that we don’t have the creative sort of view or vision to grow,” Toth said. 

“I find it absurd to think that scheduling should take priority over the well-being of everyone in this room and outside of it,” Ambutong added later in the meeting.

SAMU also revealed data from its recent survey, saying that 87 per cent of over 4500 students said keeping fall break was their number one priority and losing it and getting an extended winter break was their least preferred. 

Other faculty spoke up, pointing out gaps in research on fall breaks and inconclusive results in the literature on benefits to mental health. MacEwan provost Craig Monk continued to express his concerns that other changes to the schedule might be worse.

“We have had fall reading break for precisely four years, and I think you’ve heard today that there are mixed opinions on its efficacy,” Monk said, adding that this is not a decision that has come from the administration. 

Hoogers took issue with the provost’s comment, pointing out that only one student sits on the calendar advisory group, the subcommittee which put forward the recommendation.

“For this decision to come through a body in which there’s much more administration and faculty on it, which does not include a diverse range of student voices, I find that insulting, frankly.”

After a secret vote where the motion to cut the break failed, cheers echoed from protestors outside the room. The meeting continued before the second motion, which was to approve the 2025/2026 academic schedule with a fall break, also passed.

Despite the definitive results, Hoogers warns that while reading break is safe for the next year, it may be only a matter of time before it’s back on the chopping block. 

“I think the fact that this proposal even came through shows that [administration] is willing to prioritize operation ease over what is best for students.”

---

Photo by Liam Newbigging