By definition, the first Winter Study in January 1968 brought with it the first “Dead Week” — the four-day classless lull between the end of Winter Study and the start of spring classes. But the break is neither “dead” nor a week. Dozens of students flock to popular cities like Montreal and New York City to escape the empty interlude. But what about those who venture elsewhere, or stay put on the empty campus?
Some students chose to travel outside of the New England area, and a few even traverse oceans. Joseph Lev ’25 boarded a red-eye flight to Edinburgh, Scotland, on the night of Friday, Jan. 26, to visit his twin sister, who is studying abroad. “It was fun for me because I made the decision as a junior not to study abroad,” he said. “I got to get a quick little snapshot of what abroad life would look like.”
Lev said that his whirlwind trip — managing two flights and a five-hour time difference — was surprisingly easy. He toured the Scottish Highlands, watched a soccer game, and explored the city. “Although the trip did feel a bit condensed, naturally, overall, I think I would do it again,” he said.
For his first Dead Week at the College, Nathan Moldavsky ’27 flew to both Miami, Fla., and Boulder, Colo. He spent the first two nights in Miami on a youth leadership retreat with Best Buddies International, a non-profit organization with which he has worked for five years to support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. He then visited a long-time friend at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Moldavsky had heard from upperclass students that he should take advantage of Dead Week as an opportunity to do something special — so he committed to a cross-country, multistate feat. “At first, I saw it was only four days, and I thought that wouldn’t be enough time, but it was really nice,” Moldavsky said. “It was a super fun experience.”
“It’s kind of a brief break where you can just relax a little bit before the stress of spring semester starts again,” he continued. “I really appreciate that Williams gives us this time to just do something new, because even though Winter Study is chill, we are still on campus and that vibe of stress here at Williams sort of follows along.”
Artie Carpenter ’25 spent the four days cycling 463 miles around Florida. Carpenter, who has cycled across the continent during breaks in the past, also took this time to recover before the chaos of spring semester commenced.
“When the semester gets going, it really gets going,” Carpenter said. “We’re taking hard classes, and it’s important that we come in prepared for that. I also think that the narrative that Winter Study is chill is wrong — we still have obligations to Williams. [Dead Week] is a perfect mini-break … and then the semester is grind time. Dead Week let me spiritually refuel myself.”
Students — and even former President Adam Falk in a 2012 letter to the College community — have long puzzled over the break’s name. When asked if Dead Week felt “dead,” Carpenter was decisive. “Hell nah,” he said. “It felt pretty popping in South Florida.”
“It was very much alive in the fact that I was having so much fun and very busy days, and I was really tired at the end,” Lev said. “But maybe, because I was tired, it was actually dead.”
Other colleges and universities typically use the phrase to refer to the week before final exams rather than the week between terms. For them, the “dead” description might refer to the lack of classes and stressful workload. But the College community’s interpretation of “dead” represents the lack of activity on campus, which some students observed firsthand last week.
Kelly Reyes ’26 decided to stay on campus this year. As a student from California, she felt that she wouldn’t have enough time to go home for just four days. Instead, she was busy decorating her new room in Carter House after moving from Hubbell, snowboarding and skiing, and watching television. “[Campus] was definitely dead,” Reyes said. “But a good dead, honestly. A needed dead.”
Reyes commented on the deserted feeling on campus. “We went to Lee [Snack Bar] at 2 p.m.,” she said. “My friend and I were literally the only ones in [there], and it was so quiet. Now, I go to lunch at 12:30 p.m., and it’s packed, and I’m like, ‘Nope. Let’s go back to the good times.’”
Dead Week offers students — both on and off campus — the opportunity to pursue something fun, or to take a breather before the semester. So, Moldavsky wanted to reevaluate the title. “I know ‘Dead Week’ is a sort of catchy phrase, but I feel like even if you stay on campus, there’s still value to that,” Moldavsky said. “I don’t really like the word ‘dead.’ I’d say … ‘chill’ or ‘relaxed’ week. I don’t even know if it’s a week either. But I think it’s helpful to have that time no matter where you are.”
