Finals week unfortunately falls during one of the greatest party weekends in the city — the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, but how does a student stay responsible while enjoying the weekend?

It’s a tragedy that the decision was made to place finals directly around one of the most important annual events in New Orleans culture. Some people are fortunate with their exam schedules, but too many will have to hit the books every night for their exam on the following day.

Yes, our summer begins on the second week of May, but it would be more conceivable to push finals back another week to allow a Jazz Fest experience — it would probably just entail making our summer a week shorter and our Christmas break a week longer.

It is almost a crime to do this to the music loving hordes of Loyola students because, though it shuts down drinking Abita until 5 a.m., it also cancels out one of the greatest educational events a student could attend. With the blending of countless genres and sounds, a bustle of behind-the-scenes activity and the presence of the most accomplished musicians of our day, a music student will learn priceless lessons no matter what aspect they study.

The festival offers something for every kind of student though: a rich study for a historian; lyrical studies for any language major from English, French and Spanish to indigenous African dialects; a physics major would also be in the melting pot, experiencing some ways to make sound for the first time on rare or customized instruments. This is, without a doubt, a missed opportunity.

So how does a Loyola student enjoy the second week of Jazz Fest, without losing an entire day of studying? One way would be to buy a ticket for the festival and check the schedule online to see when the band you want to see is playing.

Another time saver would be to buy a ticket to see one of the many shows playing during the nights after the festival days. This is the trick I used — I bought a ticket to see Medeski, Martin and Wood at the Capitol Theatre, but there are plenty of other shows including Soulive and Ghostland Observatory.

For the busy and broke student, these options still might not work for you, but there are less costly measures. During the whole week and a half of Jazz Fest, the nightly crowds will gather on Frenchmen to hear eclectic sounds from both local and visiting acts of extremely varying genres. You’ll have a good time no matter if you have $10 or $50 in your pocket.

So go out there and have a good time, even if it is only for a couple hours, because Jazz Fest and the events surrounding it are rich in content and importance. Encounter something new and extract as many lessons as you can, even if Loyola’s agenda is trying to inhibit that experience.