17th of May: Champagne showers, or buried in books?
17th of May:Champagne showers,or buried in books?
Journalist: Ingvild Lauvstad Sunde
Photographer: Ben Børilden
Translator Ida Haraldstad
Web distributor: Julie Anine Strømme
Exams are no laughing matter. This is the day to show what you can do. But what if that day falls on May 18th? Maybe you have to scrap your national day celebration in favor of studying? Or maybe you just decide to see what happens? Hey, what about having no exams on May 18th?
Student council leader at MINA, Sigrid Esmeralda Arnestad, and AU leader Jens Bartnes understand that many students want no exams on May 18th. Sigrid highlights that having an exam on May 18th can make students feel excluded from the national day celebrations. “I had an exam on May 18th myself and chose to study in Eplehagen amidst all the festivities. You end up feeling a bit left out.” Jens summarizes the issue like this, “It’s hard to study on May 17th with all the partying going on around you, and it’s also hard having to say no to being part of it.”
A long fight for the students in Bergen
In 2018, students at the University of Bergen (UiB) were promised that this would be the last year of exams right after the national day. Two years later, an article in Studvest (Bergen’s version of Tuntreet) reveals that exams are still held, albeit few, on May 18th.
Andrea Nesvik Voss is the current leader of the Student Board of the UiB Student Parliament and has provided written comments to Tuntreet. She says that the issue of having no exams on May 18th at UiB has been ongoing since 2016. At that time, a resolution was passed in the UiB Student Parliament. Despite the occasional exam being held on the date, Andrea is satisfied that having no exams on May 18th is now common practice at UiB.
Discontent at MINA
At MINA, Sigrid observed underlying discontent among those who had had exams on May 18th and those who were about to do so for the first time. Therefore, having an exam-free May 18th was brought up for discussion in the MINA Student Council.
They then contacted the Director of Studies, Ole-Jørgen Torp, who suggested they propose the issue as a resolution in the Student Parliament. The AU leader at the time, Ina Maria Finnerud, helped them with the process, and the resolution was passed at Student Parliament 4 of fall 2022.
“In the student council, there was no problem reaching an agreement on are solution on this issue,” Sigrid states, but explains that the matter is still administratively challenging. However, according to Jens, the management at NMBU has not been very opposed to it.
What do the lecturers think?
On May 18th, 2020, there was an exam in ECN122 - Macroeconomics 1. Course organizer Eirik Romstad explains that he, fortunately, did not notice any “significant differences” in the students’ performance level this year compared to other years. However, he believes that having an exam-free May 18th would not have created any major challenges for the course, and refers to the study administration’s rules that the exam set should be ready at least three working days in advance.
Exam on Saturdays?
Each university in Norway has its own study regulations, which are based on the University and University Colleges Act. In NMBUs study regulation, the study year is determined by §18, “division of the study year”. This paragraph must be amended to ensure an exam-free May 18th, by giving the date the status of a holiday.
In the email that Sigrid received when the student council at MINA contacted Ole-Jørgen Torp, he explains that protecting a day from the exam calendar can be complicated. “The individual exam times within the exam period are determined based on input from the study programs about which subjects should not collide. This is a complex matrix where all available time slots must be used so that individual students do not get exam collisions,” emphasizes the Director of Studies.
Regarding whether an exam-free May 18th is advantageous or disadvantageous for students, Eirik Romstad points out that removing a day from the exam period can increase the risk of exam collisions. Jens, on the other hand, notes that “the exam period must of course be extended in either one direction or the other.” This means either a later start to the June block or an examperiod that starts earlier.
Jens reveals that the AU has looked at alternatives and does not believe that students want an exam-free May 18th if it means exams on Saturdays. He adds that even though they are working on this issue now, it will be a long time before the next time an exam can fall on May 18th, as the day will either be a weekend or a holiday for the next five years.
Do you have something to say? Bring your story into the light
Sigrid is very satisfied with how the matter was handled in the student democracy. “When you’re not happy with something, it’s important to know that anyone can bring it up. You don’t need to gather many others who agree, but you can just as well bring up the issue as an individual,” Sigrid emphasizes. “By bringing the issue to the student council for voting and decision-making, you will be better equipped when the matter is brought to the student parliament,” she adds.
A resolution is a written enactment, a decision or a statement from/by an organization or assembly. Are solution can be reached on the basis of consensus or after voting.
Source: ‘Resolusjon’ at snl.no
HOW DO YOU GET YOUR CASE HEARD IN THE STUDENT DEMOCRACY?
Does it regard only your study program? Contact:
The student representative for your program council.
Does it regard the entire faculty or university? Contact:
Your class representative
Your program council rep.
... or directly contact the leader or the faculty student council.
If the case is brought to the program council, it will be discussed and will follow internal processes onward.
If the case is brought to the Student Council, it will be discussed there. If the case is brought forward, they draft a proposal for a resolution in the Student Parliament.
In the Student Parliament there are representatives from all faculties. The resolution will first be brought up for discussion and be decided on in the next Student Parliament.
When the resolution is decided on, it’s the Student Parliament’s Student Board (AU) that works with the case afterward. These are students that work for the student democracy fulltime.
