Labor Day is a staple holiday in K-12 education and at most colleges, but not for the private Abilene Christian University.

Until recently, ACU has chosen to function normally on Labor Day, leaving students without a break until about six weeks later.

Observing the Labor Day holiday is a benefit for students to get a break before starting what can be a transformative time in their lives.

Alli Dimmitt, senior political science major from Bonita Springs, Florida,  said she enjoyed having the day off for once.

“I love having Labor Day off, after the long first week it was a nice reset date, but my first thought was where did this day off come from,” Dimmitt, Student Government Association president said.

ACU made the change last year to observe Labor Day along with Juneteenth, closing down campus and classes.

Speculation on campus says the fear of student loss is to blame for ignoring the holiday, but the personal scheduling difficulties for faculty and staff are why it is present.

Because the first week of classes and Wildcat Week can be overwhelming for first years, the Labor Day weekend could provide an out for them to give up on ACU, only experiencing the tip of the iceberg.

While going home so soon for students can bring negative impacts, it gives them a chance to start adjusting to their separate school-home life environment before getting too deep into school six weeks in.

According to research in the International Journal of Electrical Engineering & Education, undergraduate students who take short academic breaks are more likely to succeed and score higher in their courses.

It is easy for college students and faculty alike to get burnt out during the school year. For Freshmen, even more so due to the overwhelming change of college life and entering a school year coming off of a jam-packed Wildcat Week.

For upperclassmen students, Aimen Nesru, senior computer science major from Wylie, said it gives them a break to regroup from the overwhelming first week.

“I think everybody was hit hard with the first week of real class, and the homework level was a lot,’” he said. “Getting in that routine was nice with Labor Day weekend, and everyone who was homesick from Wildcat Week got to go home, so it was nice.”

If students chose not to visit home, the Office of Student Life hosted a staycation to help promote community and relaxation on campus.

Dr. Eric Gumm,  Director of the First-Year Program and Academic Development Center, said while a break may be good for students it may cost them a valuable academic session.

“That’s where the tension comes, most everyone likes days off, but if our goal is to provide as much content that we want our students to have in our courses in a digestible volume…did that break come at the expense of more intensive days,” Gumm says.

Students seemed to enjoy their time off and were able to get better prepared for the school year and, for freshmen, a calm student-life balance.

ACU should continue to observe the holiday, for the sake of their student. It can only do more good than harm.