Veterans Speak out on having classes on Veterans Day
Kate Dashiell, Staff Writer
Hudson Valley held classes this Veterans Day, causing a stir for some students who have served in the military.
“It sells out the moral fiber of the school in order to get one more day of lecture,” said student Shawn Sutton, who served as a corporal in the Marines.
Hudson Valley is known for serving student veterans as a “military friendly” school, according to G.I. Jobs. Its self-proclaimed “long history of helping our military pursue their education” has seen many go through their doors, and currently the school has 350 students who enrolled.
On a local level, Troy and Albany public schools and offices are closed along with other schools and businesses in the area.
Typically, there are many stores, schools, and businesses that chose to close for Veterans Day.
“I don’t think there should be school to honor what the vets do and continue to do for our country,” said student Joseph Thomas, who spent five years as an Army medic from 1992 to 1997.
“It makes me feel that our service is diminished,” said Ben Colin, who had served as a sergeant in the United States Marine Corps, and is the current president of the Armed Forces Club at Hudson Valley. “We get Columbus Day off, which is about a guy who barely discovered the new world. But veterans protect it. Many of us have stood where the metal meets the meat.”
Faculty and staff members who have served in the military are required by law to have the day off, so student veterans are left wondering why this isn’t extended to them.
“My concern is not that we get to have the day off, it’s for the campus and the student body who don’t get the time to reflect what this holiday means, or for the students who have lost brothers, sisters or parents. They have to sit in class all day,” said Shawn Sutton.
Some people on campus chose to rebel against this decision. One professor, who wishes to remain anonymous, told the veterans in her class that she would not mark them absent if they did not show up. She is also allowing them to make up the test they missed at their convenience.