16.1 million Americans are expected to skip work the day after the Super Bowl. 8 million will request off. This magnitude of absenteeism among those who have a choice suggests that Christopher Newport University ought to lead the way among Virginia universities in canceling classes. Sure, students could just skip classes like the millions of Americans doing so at work, but students at CNU hold themselves to a higher standard. Through this petition, we're requesting off.

CNU has an opportunity to be a beacon of progress among all Virginia Universities. Canceling classes after the Super Bowl demonstrates just how highly this University values its students, as well as being yet another reason why someone might apply here. 

Applying to college typically comes down to a stage where the student has narrowed his or her choices down to a select few. Once CNU has reached this stage of an applicant’s decision, the college they end up going to depends on smaller things - like things they’ve heard. “I heard x enforces a curfew!” “I heard y has bad dorms!” What if “I heard CNU gives their students the day after the Super Bowl off” was thrown into the mix?

The Super Bowl will also take up much of the time students typically spend preparing for the next day. The game is scheduled to start at 6:30 PM, meaning it’s gonna run late. A football game is split into four fifteen-minute quarters, but the actual amount of time they spend playing it is greatly stretched out. Variables such as commercial breaks, up to six timeouts from each team, two minute warnings, injury timeouts, clock stoppage for penalties, incomplete passes, and out-of-bounds, and a very commercialized halftime show all contribute to the elongated runtime. Furthermore, the game could also go to overtime like it did in Super Bowl LI, or the power could go out at the stadium like it did in Super Bowl XLVII. All this is to say that the game can go well into the hour of 10 o’clock PM. This means the earliest the average Super Bowl watcher would be able to begin preparing for the upcoming school day (last second homework, picking an outfit, showering, etc.) would be two hours before midnight. I don’t have a crystal ball or anything, but I can see a LOT of people staying up too late.

A commonly used argument against this cancellation of classes is that there are a handful of federal holidays we don’t have days off for, and that these holidays are more important than the Super Bowl. Canceling classes should not be a statement of a day’s importance. Sure, that’s a way to show that the day is meaningful, but that shouldn't be the sole reason classes are canceled. Canceling classes should be done when it’s most needed. While days like Labor Day, Veterans Day, and Presidents are federal holidays, I would argue that they are not nearly as actively celebrated as the Super Bowl. This is NOT to diminish the importance of ANY of these holidays, but it is to say that a holiday’s meaningfulness should not be taken as heavily into consideration as how much people actually take time out of their day to celebrate it. 

All of that said, it’s also important to note that not canceling classes on other holidays could be a reason we COULD get an extra day off. If  we aren’t slowing down the curriculum for Labor Day, for example, we can use that day we could have gotten off on another day (February 13).

You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. This may be a quote from a hockey player, but it’s just as effective in saying it can’t hurt to ask for a day off to watch a football game.