Wednesday, Nov. 11 was Veterans Day, a day to honor our soldiers both past and present that have sacrificed so much in order to protect the rights that we have as Americans. Veterans Day grew out of Armistice Day, which President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed America would celebrate on Nov. 11, 1919. This date was the one-year anniversary of the official end to the hostilities of World War I. With time, people began to argue that not just World War I veterans, but all veterans of all American wars and conflicts should be honored. In 1954 Congress passed a bill making Armistice Day into Veterans Day. It has been a national holiday ever since, and with the exception of the period from 1971 to 1978 when it was observed on the fourth Monday of October, it has been observed on Nov. 11 or the weekday that falls closest to it.
This year, the Tufts University administration decided it would not shut the entire school down in honor of Veterans Day, but that classes would run as usual. Even with this mandate, many of the school's administrative offices had the day off. Students, professors and other teachers were still in class as if it were any other day. This seems unfair to the student body, the professors and other people such as those who work in the dining halls who did not have the day off — and who would no doubt have liked a vacation. More importantly, not observing Veterans Day further alienated the military from the Tufts campus.
There are over 24 million veterans in this nation, and yesterday was their day. Of course, there are those who will counter this statement by saying that given the day off, very few people actually think about veterans. Instead they sleep in all morning and then goof off all afternoon. This is in its own way a celebration of the day. American veterans gave us the opportunity to celebrate this day in this way. They preserved our freedoms and our society. A day where they are remembered, even if it is just in saying, "I have today off because it is Veterans Day," still raises awareness of their sacrifices. It reminds everybody that there are people who fought and many who died for this nation.
More specific to Tufts is the fact that it especially owes the U.S. military extra appreciation. It was the military that allowed Tufts to stay afloat during World War II. In 1939, the Trustees of Tufts College signed a contract with the U.S. government to use Tufts' resources for the training of pilots. Hundreds of pilots received parts of their training at Tufts during the war. In addition, the Navy's V-12 officer training program had a very large presence on campus and was housed in Cousens Gym. It was due to these programs and others of the U.S. military that our college was able to keep itself afloat. Were it not for the training of military personnel on the campus, it is very possible that Tufts would have ceased to exist as it would not have been financially able to function without this U.S. government backing. To this day a memorial honoring the V-12 officer program and how it effectively saved the university can be found near Ballou Hall overlooking the President's Lawn.
The importance of veterans and the military should never be forgotten, and the university's decision to only half-heartedly observe the holiday is shameful. One only needs to look at the Memorial Steps to see the many conflicts in which Tufts students and graduates fought and died. It is a disservice to them, as it is a disservice to all soldiers, who in the past and to this day put their lives on the line in the name of their country.
--
Charles Vlahakis is a senior majoring in history.
