Princeton should 'budget some free time for us,' Ivy League student argues

Johnatan Reiss, the author of the article and a peer academic advisor (PAA) at Princeton University, recently argued in the student-run newspaper The Daily Princetonian that the Ivy League institution should make students’ free time a priority.

“It’s not unreasonable to ask that the University budget some free time for us while we can experience [college],” Reiss writes, citing factors such as all-nighters, skipping meals, and a heavy workload are all listed as reasons why free time should be prioritized by the university.

Though Reiss, a junior, acknowledges that time management skills are critical to learn in college, he does not believe that they should be “learned through emotional distress or lack of sleep.”

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For Reiss, prioritizing free time should be “part of a policy that recognizes the importance of students’ discretionary time to their learning.”

“[R]equiring professors to designate a week or two of the semester as a low-workload week” could be an option to designate more free time to Princeton students, according to the peer academic advisor. 

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Columbia University student Daniel Di Martino told Campus Reform that he disagreed with Reiss’ article.

“I don’t think any of that is what the school should do,” Martino told Campus Reform. “Maybe Princeton is different. But generally, I don’t think there’s a free time crisis at ivy league universities. If anything, we need to improve the quality of education.”

“I think the complaint of the article is that students don’t have enough time for anything but coursework,” Martino added. “That’s just false.”

Campus Reform reached out to Johnatan Reiss and Princeton University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly. 

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