EARLIER THIS YEAR, Student Council decided to combine two Uni traditions into one.

The charity fundraiser known as X-Week, usually held in May, would be moved to late January during the same week as Spirit Week. The merged events were scheduled to be held Jan. 28 to Feb. 1.

However, at today's Student Council meeting, the members realized that the next two weeks would not be enough time to prepare X-Week money-raising activities. So X-Week will remain separate from Spirit Week, at least for this year.

"Everyone's tired," said sophomore class president Rachel Harmon. "[Keeping the events separate] will give us more time to plan."

Added Micah Berman, StudCo executive president: "Part of the logic in combining the two events was that maybe, by combining two previously lackluster events, we might be able to improve both of them.

"I guess I view the reason we changed the date of the event less as a preparation time issue (though that was definitely part of it), and more of a new epiphany: Right after the holidays, and in close proximity to the UFU lock-in among other school and larger-scale charity events, we figure that students are probably feeling a little strapped for cash."

Spirit Week will take place as scheduled during the last week of January. The Gargoyle will provide more information about the rescheduled X-Week as it becomes available.

X-Week is a Uni tradition in which each class works toward raising money for a particular cause. In the past, fundraising events during X-Week have included eating contests, water-balloon tosses, and the senior auction.

Two years ago X-Week raised more than $2,000 for the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity. But in the past year or so, an increasing number of student groups have conducted their own fundraising drives for various causes.

Some of the organizations, such as United for Uganda, succeeded in raising as much or more money as X-Week itself, causing StudCo members to rethink how X-Week should be organized.

This also led to the creation in the fall of One Club, a forum in which student groups devoted to community service and social justice could meet in the hopes of better coordinating their activities.

This year, even though Spirit Week and X-Week will remain separate, StudCo wants to revamp both.

Concerning Spirit Week, Berman said StudCo would like to incorporate some of the fun activities usually associated with X-Week — "but all the events will be free and open to everyone, as opposed to paying an entry fee," Berman said. "We're considering organizing into committees by interest to organize activities, rather than segregating organization of activities by grade level.

"Though it's not official at this point, Student Council is discussing funding some simple prizes for these events for participants and/or winners. We hope that these fun, low-pressure (for both participant and organizer) events will help encourage school spirit in a more holistic manner rather than simply centering around sports games."

Changes are also likely for X-Week.

"After we nail down the details of Spirit Week, we'll move on to X-Week planning," Berman said. "Again, nothing is decided yet, but we're considering shortening it considerably (it seemed to many Council members like it simply dragged on for too long), as well as involving clubs in hosting events (rather than forcing class officers to do it when they're not invested) and possibly involving parents in the fundraising effort as well.

"Another option we're discussing, in addition to or instead of the fundraising component, is a number of hands-on volunteer experiences — they don't require money and still can have a very positive affect, and we hope providing such an option would help students feel more in touch with the cause they're helping out."

The possible changes are in keeping with the spirit of this year's Student Council, which has looked for ways to shake up old ways of doing things, such as dispensing with a November dance in favor of co-sponsoring an ice-skating party on campus.

"I think the Council has been doing a good job of stepping back from the same-old, same-old, and looking at how we can evolve these important traditions to be interesting, exciting, and effective for everyone," Berman said.

"I've been really impressed with the big-picture approach we've been taking, and it's worth the long meetings we're spending in discussion about the issues. We may not get it completely right the first time around, but we're hoping that we can keep the events heading in a positive direction."

English teacher Steve Rayburn calls for bids on then-senior Roveiza Irfan's physics notebook during the 2006 senior auction. An auction is one of the traditional fundraising activities of X-Week. Roveiza's notebook went for $40. Gargoyle photo