MOST UNPRODUCTIVE DAY OF THE YEAR DISCOVERED

Students who had trouble getting their work done this past Monday may have an excuse rooted in a poll recently published by Promotur, the tourism board for the Canary Islands. Promotur found that more than half of all workers had a noticeable drop in productivity on Oct. 26 last year, according to The Register, a UK newspaper.

In addition to that, 14 percent of workers spoke to their bosses about their drops in productivity, and 8 percent called in sick.

The reason for this, scientists believe, is that this date last year coincided with the end of daylight saving time and came in conjunction with poor weather. This lends credence to the theory of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), which is a mental condition where the shorter days and cold weather cause a loss of productivity and an uptick in depression.

This year, however, the date daylight saving time ends is Sunday, Nov. 1, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get started on whatever work you have due Monday.

POLICE BRUTALITY UNDER INVESTIGATION AT SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY

Four police officers have come under investigation at the San Jose Police Department for their involvement in the use of excessive force in an arrest last month, according to local TV station KTVU.

During the arrest, which took place Sept. 3, officers pinned 20-year-old Phuong Ho to the wall of his apartment, hit him repeatedly with a metal baton and tased him — all before applying handcuffs.

They were there in response to an alleged assault in which Ho is said to have brandished a steak knife at his roommate. According to collegenews.com, Ho has since said the steak knife was out because he was, at the time, eating a steak.

The entire incident was captured on video by Ho’s roommate, on his cell phone no less, and was recently released by Ho’s lawyer and put on YouTube.

While the video holds potentially incriminating evidence, the four officers were not under investigation until this week, and they have been put on paid leave for the remainder.

The San Jose police chief has promised a swift investigation, according to collegenews.com.

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY SUSPENDS ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISM PROGRAM

Rising tuition and shrinking financial aid have forced Columbia University to temporarily suspend its Environmental Journalism dual-degree program, which allows graduate students to earn master’s degrees in both Journalism and Environmental Science, according to the Columbia Journalism Review.

Ultimately, the decision comes across as an act of intended mercy for both school and student. A primary reason for suspending the program, according to the official statement, is that journalism jobs are scarce worldwide, and there are only so many opportunities for environmental journalism.

“Although our students are assuming huge debt for knowledge and skills that we think are valuable,” the letter read, “we do not feel comfortable exhorting young people to take on that burden when their chances of repaying it have so diminished.”

The chances of the program re-opening hedge on whether Columbia can resume funding it, which means the entire economy might have to recover for students to be able to enroll in the prestigious program.

Reach columnist Morgan Gard at news@dailyuw.com.