No one would stand by and allow Lycoming College to ignore Christmas. People would riot in the streets if the college held classes on Dec. 25 as if it was just another day of the year.

Why is it then that no one seems to mind that Lycoming College completely ignores a national holiday that goes by the name of Labor Day? Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that I’m just some kid lobbying for a day off. You could not be more wrong. My real concern is for the dozens and dozens of hard-working employees on this campus who are robbed of a holiday meant to honor the hard-working men and women of this country. I’m talking about professors, cafeteria workers, housekeepers, the security staff, and other various members of the Lycoming College community.

Perhaps we all need a little refresher course on the true meaning of Labor Day. Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday of September every year. It was created in the late 1800s as a result of the labor movement and celebrates the economic achievements of American workers. The first Labor Day was celebrated on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 1882, in New York City and was organized by the Central Labor Union. In 1894, Congress passed a bill making Labor Day a national holiday. In modern times, Labor Day has become a day when working men and women can take a day off and celebrate the economic successes of their family, their community, and their country…unless you work for Lycoming college! Lycoming College chooses to ignore Labor Day - a national holiday. The college spits in the face of hard-working men and women who spend their days and nights keeping this entire place running. While other workers at other colleges are busy having picnics and enjoying the waning days of the summer, Lycoming College employees must drag themselves onto campus and slave away as if it were just another regular day.

One cannot forget the students either. Most students I know spend their summers rotting at menial jobs, working for minimum wage, trying to scrounge up enough money to pay for the coming semester. These students are the backbone of the fast-food industry. These students keep our check-out lines moving at a brisk pace. These students are the heart and soul of the video store empire. These students keep this country running, and they are just as deserving as anyone of a day when they can pat themselves on the back for all their hard work. Instead, they are marched into classrooms like cattle and forced to turn a blind eye to the fun and good times being had at other learning institutions across the country.

The travesty that occurs on this campus the first Monday of every September is not only an insult to every member of Lycoming’s staff and students -- it is plain un-American. It is simply another sign of the deterioration of this great country. Lycoming College is only one offender on a long list of businesses and corporations who refuse to acknowledge Labor Day, and, unless something is done in the defense of the working man’s holiday, I foresee the problem getting worse and worse until Labor Day goes the way of the dodo. Then what’s next? Working on Christmas? No more weekends off? Who knows?

I’m only one man, and I can only do so much. If the college’s refusal to acknowledge Labor Day bothers you as much as it bothers me, whether you are a student or a member of the staff, then let the school know about it. Together, we can win back the day for the working man and woman. I simply want to see every hardworking American receive the acknowledgment and appreciation that they so justly deserve … plus I really don’t want to go to class that day.