By Matt Bisanz

This past month was designated Black History month to commemorate and honor the achievements of African-Americans throughout history. Recently I saw a news clip saying that some prominent African-Americans were boycotting this event because they believe that it is a token to offer one month to honor their heritage and then to neglect it for the other 11 months. I am sure similar arguments are made for Hispanic Heritage month, Pro-Life month, and other such holidays, and while I am not taking sides on this issue I do recognize that this issue has merit. It is true that all too often important items in American and world history are compartmentalized into generic holidays. Instead of celebrating Washington’s and Lincoln’s birthdays, we celebrate the Monday and Friday closest to Washington’s birthday and call it Presidents’ weekend. Personally I am against actions like this that attempt to assign the meaning of an event to a convenient time.

Not to wave the bloody shirt, but I do not see anyone saying that the events of 9-11 should be assigned to the closet Monday in order to maximize the weekend for vacationers. Is the contribution of the victims of 9-11 to the defense of democracy any different then that of George Washington or Martin Luther King Jr.? I do not know the inner feelings of the various slighted groups that I have mentioned, but I do know that I would not enjoy having my heritage bottled up into a neat package to be filled in for a time of year that doesn’t already have a holiday. The entire point of having a holiday is to commemorate a specific thing in American culture. Labor Day is meant to pay tribute to those the workers who built the infrastructure of our country, yet today its purpose has devolved to the last vacation before school starts.

Recently the University circulated a survey which seemed to put forward the idea that they want to eliminate religious holidays because the large number of those holidays creates a scheduling problem. To me, this demands the question: if Yom Kippur or Good Friday are not deserving of a day off, then why bother with Thanksgiving or have a Spring Break of any kind. Using the ease of scheduling logic, the ideal calendar would be one of 15 weeks with no days off followed by a week of finals and then another 15 weeks of class and another week of finals. While I am sure the University does not mean to marginalize holidays, attempts like this only serve to further marginalize the entire purpose of holidays. While I won’t pass any judgment on those who boycott these marginalized and compartmentalized holidays, I will say that I understand why they are taking that action.