UNL students will soon be noticing a major change in their 2018 academic calendar.

This week, Chancellor Ronnie Green announced that a new event known as Dying Month would be added to the spring 2018 academic calendar. The event will span April 2 through April 27, the four weeks preceding what is already known as “dead week”.

The chancellor explained the move in a press release:

“This is a major step toward a more honest, aware campus community. Due to the stress and busyness of the weeks leading into dead week, it is only appropriate for us to give the period its rightful name: dying month.”

UNL students explained their support for the decision.

“It totally makes sense,” senior broadcasting major Olivia Carson told reporters. “We’re all dying from the number of papers, tests, and projects we’re all stressing over. There’s no point in mincing words.”

Freshman mechanical engineering student Clark Nelson agreed. “Each day until my last final is basically a struggle to survive. It’s time we made people more aware of this.”

“I didn’t even know it was going to be this bad last semester,” Clark said, referring to his very first semester of college. “We have to give our freshman at least a warning about the dangers of these few upcoming weeks.”

UNL students can expect to see the change made on campus calendars by the end of the week. Professors have been encouraged to add the dates to official syllabi.

Green’s statement finished by “wish[ing] our students the best of luck on this very first Dying Month.” The statement further clarified that “Dying Month” is not to be confused with “UNL Dyeing month”, which refers to the month of spring dedicated to the dyeing of Easter eggs.