With finals just around the corner, many students are concerned about the timing of this year's Little 5.
"There were a lot of things happening that were out of our control," said Kent Menzel, the faculty advisor for Little 5. "Things like admitted student weekend and Relay for Life trump Little 5 in the eyes of the administration."
While it may seem inconvenient that the events fall so close to the end of the year, the coordinators believe it could be an advantage to the riders.
"I think the more weeks after spring break Little 5 is, the better," Menzel said. "It gives the riders more training time as well as better weather to train in."
"It also gave us more time to plan the events," added junior Jordan Bantista, co-chair of Little 5 with junior Laura Guild. The two have been planning the events since January.
Some students are disappointed with the later date, however.
"With finals so close, the social pressure and academic pressure is really hammering me," first-year Payton Dunning said. "It's just hard to juggle both."
Others think students should be able to manage both if they handle their time correctly.
"I think there's enough time between the race and finals to get studying done," senior Blake Lampton said. "We should be mature enough as students. Just don't get too crazy."
Sophomore Patrick Rutledge said the timing isn't ideal but is better than interfering with the Easter holiday.
"It's the lesser of two evils," he said.
Menzel believes the late date could also improve the turnout of the race.
"The thing with turnout is all about the weather," Menzel said. "The later the date, in theory, the better weather is more likely to be. Hopefully we will have something similar to this past weekend."
Though finals are still looming over students' heads, some think it could offer stress relief.
"I could see why some people are upset," first-year Grace Coburn said, "but I think it's a good last hoorah before it comes time to study."