Dead week
Encyclopedia
Dead week is a slang
term for the week before schools' final examination
s in the United States of America. The week is known thus because of its notorious stress
; the propensity for college
and university
students to save exam study until the last possible week; and because term paper
s are often due. Students prepare for the exams and papers by pulling all-night study sessions, often with the aid of stimulants such as coffee
, caffeine tablets, Adderall
, and energy drink
s. During this period, some students will suffer from sleep deprivation
, increased irritability, and stress
. At some schools, this week is referred to as Hell Week, Reading Period, or Reading Week.
Many campus dormitories/residence halls require near silence for most of the day during the week before finals, to aid to those studying for their finals or writing papers. Depending on the school there may also be a moratorium on paper assignments, exams, and student organizational activities during dead week. Libraries may also be open for extended hours, or might stay available all night.
Many schools have a tradition, known by various names, where students open their doors and windows and scream as loudly as they can (usually at midnight) on one or all nights of this week.
Slang
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
term for the week before schools' final examination
Final examination
A final examination is a test given to students at the end of a course of study or training. Although the term can be used in the context of physical training, it most often occurs in the academic world...
s in the United States of America. The week is known thus because of its notorious stress
Stress (biology)
Stress is a term in psychology and biology, borrowed from physics and engineering and first used in the biological context in the 1930s, which has in more recent decades become commonly used in popular parlance...
; the propensity for college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
and university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
students to save exam study until the last possible week; and because term paper
Homework
Homework, or homework assignment, refers to tasks assigned to students by their teachers to be completed outside of class. Common homework assignments may include a quantity or period of reading to be performed, writing or typing to be completed, problems to be solved, a school project to be built...
s are often due. Students prepare for the exams and papers by pulling all-night study sessions, often with the aid of stimulants such as coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
, caffeine tablets, Adderall
Adderall
Adderall is a brand name of amphetamine salts–based medication used for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and narcolepsy. It is a brand-name psychostimulant medication composed of racemic amphetamine aspartate monohydrate, racemic amphetamine sulfate, dextroamphetamine saccharide, and...
, and energy drink
Energy drink
Energy drinks are beverages whose producers advertise that they "boost energy." These advertisements usually do not emphasize energy derived from the sugar and caffeine they contain but rather increased energy release due to a variety of stimulants and vitamins....
s. During this period, some students will suffer from sleep deprivation
Sleep deprivation
Sleep deprivation is the condition of not having enough sleep; it can be either chronic or acute. A chronic sleep-restricted state can cause fatigue, daytime sleepiness, clumsiness and weight loss or weight gain. It adversely affects the brain and cognitive function. Few studies have compared the...
, increased irritability, and stress
Stress (medicine)
Stress is a term in psychology and biology, borrowed from physics and engineering and first used in the biological context in the 1930s, which has in more recent decades become commonly used in popular parlance...
. At some schools, this week is referred to as Hell Week, Reading Period, or Reading Week.
Many campus dormitories/residence halls require near silence for most of the day during the week before finals, to aid to those studying for their finals or writing papers. Depending on the school there may also be a moratorium on paper assignments, exams, and student organizational activities during dead week. Libraries may also be open for extended hours, or might stay available all night.
Many schools have a tradition, known by various names, where students open their doors and windows and scream as loudly as they can (usually at midnight) on one or all nights of this week.
College-specific examples
- At Iowa State UniversityIowa State UniversityIowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
, Dead Week has become an official University-recognized event. Student organizations are not allowed to meet. There are 23/7 mandatory quiet hours in the student dormitories (the non-quiet, 24th hour is dubbed Rowdy Hour). Professors are advised not to give examinations and make large assignments due during the week if the examination or assignment is not on the syllabus for the class.
- At Penn State University, students run down Mifflin Street naked the weekend before finals to relieve stress.
- At Grinnell CollegeGrinnell CollegeGrinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, U.S. known for its strong tradition of social activism. It was founded in 1846, when a group of pioneer New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College....
, dead week is known as "hell week" and, unlike in other institutions, professors do not hold off on big assignments. Most group projects and semester papers are due this week which leads many students to dread hell week much more than finals.
- At Yale UniversityYale UniversityYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, the Pundits, a nominally anonymous student group, organizes a naked runStreakingStreaking is the act of running nude through a public place.-History:On 5 July 1799, a Friday evening at 7 o'clock, a naked man was arrested at the Mansion House, London, and sent to the Poultry Compter...
through Bass LibraryBass LibraryAnne T. & Robert M. Bass Library, formerly Cross Campus Library, is Yale University's main library for frequently used materials in the humanities and social sciences, with an especially large literature collection. In addition, Bass contains many reading and studying spaces, a large computer lab,...
, where many students study for their exams. The event is usually around midnight and the runners, often drunk, hand make candy for the crowd.
- At Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, students open their windows at midnight and scream as loudly as possible on the Sunday of finals week each semester, popularly known as the Primal Scream. The tradition helps students release their pent up stress and anxiety about exams.
- At midnight the eve of the Organic ChemistryOrganic chemistryOrganic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and preparation of carbon-based compounds, hydrocarbons, and their derivatives...
final (traditionally the first, and arguably most notorious, exam of finals week), Columbia University Marching BandColumbia University Marching BandThe Columbia University Marching Band has performed for Columbia University since 1904. In the early 1960s, the CUMB became the first college or university marching band in the United States to convert to a scramble band format. Most of the United States' best universities now feature scramble...
"invades" the main reading room of Butler LibraryButler LibraryThe Nicholas Murray Butler Library, commonly known simply as Butler Library, is the largest single library in the Columbia University Library System, which contains over 9.3 million books, and is one of the largest buildings on the Morningside Heights campus of Columbia University.Proposed as...
performing ribaldRibaldryRibaldry is humorous entertainment that ranges from bordering on indelicacy to gross indecency. It is also referred to as "bawdiness", "gaminess" or "bawdry"....
scripts in an event known as Orgo Night.
- At midnight the eve of the first Monday of finals, students participate in a Spring Pillow Fight.
- At Dartmouth CollegeDartmouth CollegeDartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
, the Baker-Berry Library is covertly patrolled by volunteer "shot fairies" who offer drink and good company to students preparing for final exams.
- At Stanford UniversityStanford UniversityThe Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, students have developed a "primal scream" tradition in which students open their dormitoryDormitoryA dormitory, often shortened to dorm, in the United States is a residence hall consisting of sleeping quarters or entire buildings primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people, often boarding school, college or university students...
windows and scream at midnight every night of dead week. This tradition also exists at other institutions including Davidson CollegeDavidson CollegeDavidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. The college has graduated 23 Rhodes Scholars and is consistently ranked in the top ten liberal arts colleges in the country by U.S. News and World Report magazine, although it has recently dropped to 11th in U.S. News...
, The Citadel, the United States Naval AcademyUnited States Naval AcademyThe United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
, Georgia TechGeorgia Institute of TechnologyThe Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
(Midnight Madness), Michigan State UniversityMichigan State UniversityMichigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
(The Midnight Screamings), and Sonoma State UniversitySonoma State UniversitySonoma State University is a public, coeducational business and liberal arts college affiliated with the California State University system. The main campus is located in Rohnert Park, California, United States and lies approximately south of Santa Rosa and north of San Francisco...
(The Sonoma Scream).
- At Purdue UniversityPurdue UniversityPurdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
, dead week is often a week marking a preparation of quiet hours for the entire following week. Though the school is one of the largest in the country, the university stresses quiet during exam week.
- At Georgia TechGeorgia Institute of TechnologyThe Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
, professors that give traditional exams may assign homework and projects during dead week, but may not assign tests, quizzes, lab reports and lab practicums. Professors that give a non traditional exam, such as a project or lab report, may give homework and the alternate exam assignment during dead week or finals week. Tests, quizzes, and additional lab reports and lab practicums are not allowed during dead week. In either case, professors cannot give any assignment besides the exam during finals week. In practice, many professors take advantage of this and assign homework and projects during dead week. Also, Midnight Madness occurs every night during dead week and students scream to vent frustration at midnight. In the library at Midnight, free donuts and energy drinks are handed out to students as well.
- At Carnegie Mellon UniversityCarnegie Mellon UniversityCarnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
, the primal scream happens at the Fence the night before the finals period starts and is accompanied by a barbecue. Free coffee is offered at several dining locations from 8pm to 8am.
- At the University of Colorado at BoulderUniversity of Colorado at BoulderThe University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
, the university administrators canceled the reading period after it became apparent that students were partying instead of studying.
- At Manhattanville CollegeManhattanville CollegeManhattanville College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college offering undergraduate and graduate degrees, located in Purchase, New York. Founded in 1841 it was known initially as Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart...
, students protest the college president, an annual ritual that dates all the way back to the great riots of 2010. This signals the beginning of dead week, in which students must compete in a variety of drinking games or risk becoming social outcasts. The week culminates in a naked run across the quad. The winner of the race receives the Golden Valiant Award.
- At Drake UniversityDrake UniversityDrake University is a private, co-educational university located in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. The institution offers a number of undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and pharmacy. Today, Drake is one of the twenty-five oldest law schools in the country....
, the "primal scream" is practiced the Friday before finals but there are plans currently to make it a weekly event.
- At Cornell UniversityCornell UniversityCornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, dead week is more commonly referred to as "hell week", and starts after the weekend of the last week of classes, only ending with the last final exam. The scream tradition occurs on the night before the first finals start, where students scream in unison across the campus and college town at midnight.
- Primal Scream (Harvard)Primal Scream (Harvard)Primal Scream is a tradition at Harvard University that forms part of the streaking at educational institutions. At midnight on the last night of reading period and before final exams begin, students streak through the Old Yard. The streakers begin in the north end of The Yard and generally make...
takes place at midnight on the last night before final exams begin. Students at Vassar CollegeVassar CollegeVassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
and Smith CollegeSmith CollegeSmith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
maintain the same tradition. The week after final exams but before graduation week is known as dead week.
- At Princeton UniversityPrinceton UniversityPrinceton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, Dead Week is the period after Spring term final exams but before ReunionsPrinceton ReunionsThe Princeton Reunions are an annual college reunion event held every year on the weekend before commencement at Princeton University. It is known as the most well-attended college reunion in the world, as well as the largest single order of beer after the Indy 500...
begin, so called because most students have gone home but alumni and those staying for the summer have not yet arrived, leaving the campus "dead". The period between the end of classes and the beginning of finals is instead called "Reading Period". Reading Period lasts from the Monday after classes end to Tuesday of the following week (Dean's Date), when most written work - such as final papers and projects - is due. On the night before Dean's Date, students in Holder Hall open their windows and scream, a tradition known as the Holder Howl.
- At the University of Puget SoundUniversity of Puget SoundThe University of Puget Sound is a private liberal arts college located in the North End of Tacoma, Washington, in the United States...
, dead week is referred to as "Reading Period." The University renamed the two-day break in 1959 in an attempt to distance itself from rival PLU, which simply titles the break "Drinking Time."
- At Pacific Lutheran UniversityPacific Lutheran UniversityPacific Lutheran University is located in Parkland, a suburb of Tacoma, Washington. In September 2009, PLU had a student population of 3,582 and approximately 280 full-time faculty...
, calls dead week simply "Drinking Time." There is an "unofficial" tradition of a group of about a dozen male students streaking through campus and the library about mid-week dead week.
- At the State University of New York at Stony BrookState University of New York at Stony BrookThe State University of New York at Stony Brook, also known as Stony Brook University, is a public research university located in Stony Brook, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island, about east of Manhattan....
, dead week starts during the two days before final exams start (known as "reading days") and continues until almost two weeks later, when final exams finish for the semester. The popularity of the "primal scream" has grown to be so great here that students can be found practicing the tradition at various points during the middle of semesters as well (before midterms), and sometimes on ordinary Thursday nights, just to celebrate the end of the week for some students.
- At UC Berkeley, dead week is the week between the end of instruction and the beginning of finals. During this period and through the end of finals some facilities such as the library are open twenty four hours a day. Many students, a large number being from the Berkeley Student Cooperatives, run naked through Berkeley's immense "main stacks" in its largest library
- At MIT, the term "Dead week" is also used to refer to a one-week period between senior week (a period of activities for graduating seniors after the end of term) and commencement, since little to no events are scheduled during this week. It is common for students to plan vacations with their friends during this week.
- At California State University, SacramentoCalifornia State University, SacramentoCalifornia State University, Sacramento, popularly known as Sacramento State, is a public university located in the city of Sacramento, California. It is part of the California State University system...
, Dead Week occurs during the week before finals. During this time student housing enforces a strict quiet hour policy. Even though campus facilities, including the library, close at 11:00 pm, the University Student Union stays open until 2:00 am, providing students with study lounges and free coffee. The campus's Academic Information and Resource Center (AIRC) stays open 24 hours for late-night studying.
- At Marist CollegeMarist CollegeMarist College is a private liberal arts college on the east bank of the Hudson River near Poughkeepsie, New York. The site was established in 1905 by Marist Brothers, and the college was chartered in 1929...
, "Dead Week" is synonymous with "Reading Weekend," or the days between the end of classes and the beginning of final exams. During the fall semester, the college's annual charity Giving Tree – a 30 feet (9.1 m) indigenous pine in center campus – is lit with nearly 50,000 lights on the Saturday of Dead Week, after which students make a short trip to the James A. Cannavino Library to commence studying. In the spring semester, "Senior Week" refers to the week between the end of finals and Commencement. "River Fest," held on Marist's bank of the Hudson River, typifies the tenor of the week, featuring fireworks, music, and refreshments; River Fest is widely viewed as an event where graduating seniors see their professors for the last time.
- At Northwestern UniversityNorthwestern UniversityNorthwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, there is a tradition known as the "Primal Scream" that takes place at 9 pm on the Sunday night before finals week. The Primal Scream marks the end of reading week, a time when most classes are not in session, and the beginning of finals week.
- At Southwestern UniversitySouthwestern UniversitySouthwestern University is a private, four-year, undergraduate, liberal arts college located in Georgetown, Texas, USA. Founded in 1840, Southwestern is the oldest university in Texas. The school is affiliated with the United Methodist Church although the curriculum is nonsectarian...
, dead week is also known as "hell week", and lasts the full week before examinations. It is known as hell week because most professors have term papers and projects due throughout the week, with finals following only a few days later. The scream tradition is held throughout campus at 10 pm on the Wednesday night of finals week, and otherwise, 24-hour quiet hours are enforced throughout the residence halls.
- At the United States Military AcademyUnited States Military AcademyThe United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
, dead week is known as "TEE Week" (TEE stands for Term End Examination). TEE week is marked by streakers, as Cadets who are resigning their appointments need not fear retribution.
- At Young Harris CollegeYoung Harris CollegeYoung Harris College is a private, Methodist-affiliated liberal arts college located in the mountains of northeast Georgia. The current president is Cathy Cox, former Georgia Secretary of State.-Origins:...
students walk the entire length of the campus front wall. If a student falls off or doesn't complete the walk then they must start from the beginning. Also, a tradition states that if a student steps on the seal on the plaza then they will fail their exams.
- At University of North CarolinaUniversity of North CarolinaChartered in 1789, the University of North Carolina was one of the first public universities in the United States and the only one to graduate students in the eighteenth century...
, dead week extends from the last week of classes until final exams are over. While there are no "primal scream" traditions, there will sometimes be streakers that run through the Undergraduate Library (open 24 hours) unannounced. Students also have a tendency to relieve stress by partying on nights before reading days. Typically the exam schedule follows a pattern of reading day, two days of exams, reading day, etc, with three exam periods.
- At North Carolina State, dead week is the full week before exams start, followed by two study days and a week and a half of exams. No homework can be assigned or due during this week unless it has been on the course syllabus or website since the first two weeks of class. This essentially limits work due during the week to major projects that have been going on through the semester.
- At University of Mary WashingtonUniversity of Mary WashingtonThe University of Mary Washington is a public, coeducational liberal arts college located in the city of Fredericksburg, Virginia, USA. Founded in 1908 by the Commonwealth of Virginia as a normal school, during much of the twentieth century it was part of the University of Virginia, until...
, Dead Week is the week after Spring Semester Finals. During this time, graduate candidates have a week of downtime while grades are finalized. Most of the underclassmen have left and many of the seniors live off campus, leaving the campus with a quiet, empty feeling.
- At UCLA, Dead Week is the week that precedes Finals week. Because most students dedicate the majority of their time to studying during this week, Powell Library is open more often and quiet hours are strictly enforced.
- At the University of Nebraska, students are given a one-hour period on the preceding Sunday to be as loud as possible. Music is played, free food is given away, etc. in an attempt to prepare for Dead Week.
- At The University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignThe University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
, there is only one day for reviewing, known as Reading Day. Reading Day falls on a Thursday and Final Exams begin the Friday after. Typically, the Wednesday night prior to Reading Day is marked by the last major parties of the year
- At the University of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Southern CaliforniaThe University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, the Spirit of TroySpirit of TroyThe Spirit of Troy, also known as the University of Southern California Trojan Marching Band , self-described as "The Greatest Marching Band in the History of the Universe," represents USC at various collegiate sports, broadcast, popular music recording, and national public appearance functions.The...
performs nightly in front of Leavey Library, usually marching and running through the reflecting pool in front of the library, and aiming and playing their instruments towards students studying inside Leavey Library. This tradition, rather than the tradition of other colleges where students shout out their windows, is known as Primal SCream (noted with a capital SC referencing the school's nickname). During the final week of classes in the spring semester, graduating seniors run through every one of the school's various fountains in a tradition known as the 'Fountain Run'.
- At the Coast Guard Academy, there is a one or two-day period entitled "Study and Conference Day". During the actual week of exams many normal military obligations are lightened and relaxed, and many students ring the bell on several large buoys scattered throughout the campus.
- At Northern Arizona UniversityNorthern Arizona UniversityNorthern Arizona University is a public university located in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States. It is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, and has 39 satellite campuses in the state of Arizona. The university offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees.As of...
many choose to strip to lingerie and go on a group runUndie RunAn Undie Run is an event where a large number of people disrobe until they are only wearing underwear, and then run. The site of Undie Runs are typically college campuses, but they may occur on other sites such as streets. Undie Runs may be purely for entertainment, a form of protest, or as with...
known as the "Undie Run" the Sunday before finals week.