Board to review MLK Day

March 26, 2007 —

At the most recent meeting of SVSU's Faculty Association, two members of the Committee for Academic Policy - which is tasked with setting the academic calendar for the upcoming school year - abstained from voting for the passage of the calendar, claiming that SVSU should close its doors in observance of Martin Luther King Day, as many of its sister colleges and public institutions do.

One of the committee members was Student Association President Andy Suszek, who argued that MLK Day should be treated as any other holiday.

"It's an important day to honor and remember; everyone recognizes that," he said. "The reasons given for not having it off have been that students won't use the day for learning and reminiscence. If that's the case, why do we have any holiday?"

Because the vote was not unanimous, the academic calendar was brought to the Faculty Association for review. The Faculty Association, headed by Gary Thompson, deliberated on the idea of having MLK Day off after reviewing several other possible holidays for the upcoming year.

After much discussion the FA decided to act on the recommendation of Andy Suszek and CAPC to move forward in the process of getting SVSU to close in observance of MLK Day.

On March 19, Thompson wrote a memo to President Eric R. Gilbertson noting the recommendation made by the committee as well as the Faculty Association's concerns regarding the recommendation.

"If we can work it out so as to deliver course work responsibly, we certainly should observe it as a holiday," it reads.

The matter is now in the hands of the SVSU Board of Control, who has the final word in on the subject of the academic calendar for the next school year.

A date for feedback from the Board has yet to be determined, so SVSU students and faculty members will have to wait until academic calendar for next year is finalized.