Winter break has always been the halfway mark for the sentence students spend at school each year. Like a noontime daydream, it gives a false sense of repose and has vanished before it can be appreciated. The idea of summer returning to our heads as we once again go back into the fray of intelligence and social conflicts.

This year things will be different; winter break has been moved back to Dec. 23, making Christmas Eve the day after finals. This leaves one very simple question ahead of us — who the heck thought of that?!

Why would anyone want to change something like this? Who does it help? Does it help the students to worry about what they plan to get for their friends and family while they take their finals? It seems that the Yuletide fat cats have bitten our tails off once again.

Now, it is true that we do not return until Jan. 9. If winter break started Dec. 16, we would return Monday, Jan. 2. If we went back to school on that day, some say there would be low attendance for both staff and students. Though this might seem smarter due to festivities, it isn’t really much different than returning Jan. 3, which we have done before. If attendance was the only reason for the shift in break, it isn’t a good one.

Is it good to break tradition? Possibly. But is it right to break it only for the benefit of the few who lack the sense to make smart decisions? Definitely not.