University has no class for having class on MLK day

University has no class for having class on MLK day

MLK Day

This article written by Steven Rosch illuminates his concern for the disrespect that the university has regarding Martin Luther King Jr. Day. He expresses his opinion on having class during that day.

Steven Rosch

The Quad

Special Collections, Francis Harvey Green Library, West Chester University

1-23-2001

Sarah Johnson

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https://digital.klnpa.org/digital/collection/wcnp01/id/26665/rec/1

Welcome back, everyone. On Monday the 15th, I went to my first class of the semester, just as most of you did. West Chester University has the singular distinction from the rest of the Pennsylvania higher educational system of not recognizing the federal holiday of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This upset most students here at West Chester but for a few differing reasons. For me, it sent a message that the University not only chose not to honor Dr. King, but also in a sense dishonored him. Martin Luther King Jr. is in my opinion among the top ten human beings who ever lived and yet it seems that when the University decided to ignore the day of his birth they were in a sense saying that he is not worthy of the honor. On the other hand, it may be that the University understood Dr. King better than most. Dr. King was all about education and if he were alive today, he probably would have wanted students to go to classes as a way to honor him. In his eyes, education is the weapon used to fight hate and prejudice. So in that sense, the University did a good thing last Monday by not canceling classes. But let us not forget that there was learning taking place outside the classrooms on the day in question. Many programs dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr. and his views were Unfortunately, those programs were ended by 6 p.m. so some students who work full time jobs (that were also not closed on the 15th) could not attend them. Many more students may have attended those programs if they did not have class at the time of the program. Yet another reason why the University should have cancelled classes that day. Sort of like what they do for the Academic festival every year. Unfortunately, I am aware of West Chester University's well-deserved reputation as a party school. So why many of the students here actually were upset about hav- ' ing class for one of the before mentioned reasons, most were upset because they wanted a have an extra day off of classes... man. They could have partied more Sunday night and hung out with there friends which they probably had not seen in about a month or so. To them, King is cool because they thought that they would get to sleep in Monday morning. But, for those among you who were in this mind set rest assured with President Baby Bush, we might get Jesus Day off. Almost all of these people of whom I have described live in a world that was changed by King before Stephen Rosch eluded"6 Most of them have no conception of the history that came before him or of the time in which he lived. Lots of people take for granted the role he played in our history. He was not just some black guy talking about black rights. He was a man who spoke about equal rights for all people. He stood for non-violent solutions to sometimes-violent problems in the face of people who wanted violence in exchange for violence. But most of all. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a dreamer. And unfortunately, even today some people do not heed his words in 1 that people still judge others not by the content of their character but many times by the color of their skin or by their gender, religion, or even their sexual orientation.The efforts of Dr. King make even the worst of us see the doubts in such judgements. Classes or no classes, the learning shouldn't end. Next year, we will have Dr. King's Birthday off.