In 1881 students applied substantial pressure to have a week of Christmas holiday instead of only one day. The board of trustees created a special committee to consider the question. The faculty, which was allowed discretion in the matter, reluctantly gave in to the students’ demands for a week’s holiday—a Southern tradition. The board of trustees, in approving the vacation from December 24, 1881 to January 2, 1882, rationalized that little work was done during that period anyway.