by recognizing national holidays
Richard Friedman is a senior double majoring in architecture and psychology. His column will run every other Thursday, and he always welcomes your comments at rfriedma@nd.edu.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Notre Dame is often referred to as a bubble. Students often seem to be removed from the world and unaware of what is going on outside of campus. They also have the reputation of often caring only about themselves and not recognizing the outside world. While in many cases that reputation is inaccurate, sometimes it is true. It is fueled by both our actions as students and by the Administration's.
One such example would be Notre Dame's disregard for national holidays. "God, Country, Notre Dame" is inscribed above the side door of the Basilica and is meant to remind the Notre Dame family about all the blessings that they have received. It is also meant to be a symbol of our dedication to those causes. And yet, national holidays do not seem to qualify for official recognition on campus.
This past Monday was Martin Luther King Day, a national holiday. Banks were closed, there was no mail and in Indiana, at least, all public schools close for either Martin Luther King Day or Presidents Day.
Notre Dame, on the other hand, does not officially recognize either of these days. There are the events that are organized by students and clubs on campus for this week in order to celebrate King's life and its significance, but nothing really official.
Martin Luther King Jr. was not just a symbol for minorities; he stood for equality and respect for all races and all types of people. These are both things that Notre Dame, especially given our Catholic nature, should be proud to celebrate and stand behind.
Even if you disagree with Martin Luther King, you probably identify with someone who is a member of the general work force. Labor Day was set up to recognize the significance of the labor force and the contributions that American workers have made to the advancement our country. It is because of these struggles that we are afforded most of what we have today and why our country is as great as it is.
Yet, Notre Dame also fails to recognize this day. While some people may claim that it is acceptable that we do not get off for Labor Day because we get off the Monday before it for "enrollment day," that is really true. Whatever the reason that Notre Dame gives us a whole day to fill in a bubble-sheet (or now even just go to a web-page), it is probably not meant to symbolize the same thing.
And, as if ignoring Labor Day is not bad enough, what most people do not realize is that if you take summer classes, you are required to be in class on the Fourth of July. Now, how can you deny that there is something wrong with making students attend class on the day that celebrates our nation's independence? Going to class distracts us from recognizing the significance of the day while at the same time prevents us from participating in the events which are meant to be symbolic of our nation and all that we stand for.
While parades, barbeques, parties and fireworks may seem to just be fun things to do with friends and family, they also hold within themselves a distinct feeling of patriotism and national spirit. Somehow, I did not quite get the same feeling and sense of being proud to be an American while I was sitting in my statistics class.
Notre Dame needs to start to recognize the importance and significance of national holidays. While I recognize that there may be scheduling problems and a required number of class days, do these few days really make a difference a difference in the overall academic calendar?
I checked a number of other universities' calendars and I could not find one — public, private, Catholic or otherwise — that was in school on Labor Day or Martin Luther King Day. If every other school can fit them in, I would think that Notre Dame could do so as well.
We are given ample time to celebrate our Catholic holidays, and we certainly have a spirit of Notre Dame throughout campus, so now let's add in the missing piece and start to bring in more of a respect for our country and recognize national holidays. Not canceling classes serves to diminish the importance of the days and sends out a message to everyone that we do not care about or respect national holidays.
I do not think that that is really true at all, so let's start to send out the correct message continue to try to remove another part of the Notre Dame bubble.
All Viewpoint Stories for Thursday, January 23, 2003
