In an email to the student body on Thursday, President Clayton Rose announced that classes will be canceled the Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving break, extending the break to a full week. Thanksgiving break will now start on Friday, November 19, and classes will resume on Monday, November 29.

This decision was made in an effort to “allow a full week to rest, recharge and spend time with family and friends and those who support us,” Rose wrote.

Rose credited the “Polar Pause” initiative proposed by the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) last year for the change.

Although students may now leave after classes on the 19th, this decision does not affect the schedule for housing, meals or access to campus buildings—students will have full access to these resources on Monday and Tuesday. The campus will remain open during that time, and faculty and staff will continue to work.

“We know you join us in great thanks to our faculty for adjusting their schedules and to our staff who support all that we do on campus,” Rose wrote.

Thanksgiving break will officially start for staff and faculty on the previously scheduled date, November 24.

Rose emphasized that this shift was intended to give students extra time after an especially challenging year.

“Please make plans to rest, relax, visit with family and friends, and take care of yourselves in this very demanding and difficult period,” he wrote.

This email was sent at 7 p.m., in the midst of the dinner rush. Minutes after it was sent, Thorne Dining Hall erupted in applause.