I always felt like that was so ridiculous. Seriously, why didn't the teachers give me a steady flow of assignments all throughout the year? Is it that the school wants the students to suffer as much as they possibly can before releasing them until the up-coming semester? Is that even legal? Probably. But that does not mean that I can't sit to my computer grumbling about research papers, exams (which I should be studying for), and all other responsibilities we may have as students in the final weeks of school.
Picture source: http://scelnews.com/2012/11/word-of-the-day-8/stack-of-books/