Between the seventh and ninth week of school, students realize they are halfway done with the semester. After hearing someone in Neptune ask why they would have tours during midterms, I wondered if this was an appropriate time.

At first, I thought tours should have been moved to a different time. But after talking to Chris Porterfield, senior assistant director for the Office of Admissions, I saw how the scheduling worked around high schoolers’ schedules. Students should be more accommodating to them.

Porterfield said open house takes place on holidays when high schoolers are off. Unlike regular days, when there are only walking tours, the open house has bus tours that stop at a residence hall. This year, the open house on Columbus Day happened to be when some students had midterms.

“We’re kind of confined by when the high schools are not in session,” Porterfield said.

Even though I thought the campus seemed quieter, and tours would give visitors a false perspective on the school, Porterfield pointed out the atmosphere wouldn’t be affected much by midterms.

“The thing is, midterms are really a spread out time period,” Porterfield said. “It’s probably not correct to think that all those students have the midterms in one particular, set, narrow period. It’s broader than that.”

In fact, the majority of students I talked to said their schedules were not affected by the open house. For freshman photography major Juan Molina, there was no specific time period for midterms. He said that he knew people who had tests that day, but he feels that the overall dynamics of the campus were not affected.

So it wouldn’t have made much of a difference to move the day of the open house. Sophomore undecided major Jannell Jordan also had regular tests during those weeks.

However, Elizabeth Balvaneda, junior elementary education major, feels that students who come to campus notice that it’s quieter because students are studying more. So they get a different view of the school.

Regardless of the time for open house, some students on campus see its value.

“I think [open house] is very important,” Balvaneda said. “At least for me, it gave me an idea of how campus is. You can picture yourself there.”

By considering the schedules of open house and its value, students can adjust their study locations for tours.

Jennifer Galindo, freshman physical therapy major, feels students’ study locations and the tours are separate issues.

“Midterms [have] nothing to do with the tours,” Galindo said. “If people wanted to study, they should go to the library. Why come to Neptune? This is one of the loudest places to study.”

Since many students are unaware that open house falls on national holidays, there could be more awareness of when open house takes place. Galindo recommended that the CA’s write about them on their floors.

Jordan feels that CA’s should actually announce when the open house would be. Jacqueline Gray, freshman French language and literature major, feels the notifications should be emphasized more.

“I don’t know if they put an announcement in the Northern Star, but if they did, make it more prominent,” Gray said.

Regardless of whether students have midterms when the open house takes place, they are not the only people affected. We should be welcoming new students for next year.

Students just need to be aware of open house and adjust their personal schedules.