Memorial Day is a holiday - does the administration know?

COMMENTARY - Craig Cox

At Appalachian State University, classes more important than the celebration of American Freedom. This commentary is addressed to the administrators responsible for scheduling classes on Memorial Day. It is also addressed to those professors who scheduled tests on this national holiday.

It is not addressed to students, but instead on behalf of the many students who have expressed displeasure in their discussions with me about the UniversityÕs lack of awareness, pride, appreciation, and remembrance that is part of Memorial Day.

As most of you know Monday May 28 was Memorial Day. The holiday was observed by the entire United States including our mother school the University of North Carolina.

Did the administration notice that the postman didnÕt come on Monday? Did any of the professors that scheduled tests on Monday notice that the professional world of banks and law offices didnÕt open for business on Monday?

Was this some kind of freakish event where everyone decided to stay in bed on the same day, or was this just some dream where all the world except for ASU stops for a day? We are given off for Independence Day, which is important for similar reasons.

Where is the justification for giving students a break to celebrate a religious tradition (Easter), when ASU is a public state-run university, and there is a separation of church and state? We are however denied a school holiday for a state-related holiday! It doesnt add up to me, or to many of the students I talked to on Memorial Day.

The nation rests on Memorial Day not because it is convenient, but because it is a day to remember those brave souls that died in war defending freedom and democracy.

Regardless of political reasoning, we must recognize that most of the men we honor didnÕt choose war, but rather chose to fight when their nation and president called upon them.

These men and women who fought and died bloodied deaths, perished in vain if we fail to recognize, treasure, and preserve the freedoms they once safeguarded.

For some reason, which is beyond me, Appalachian State University was required to hold classes despite the national holiday. This was a true inconvience to many students because plans with relatives and friends had to be canceled and forgotten.

Did school officials consider that some, if not many, students had plans to celebrate the holiday? Might a student have a great-grandfather that fought in WWII or an uncle that fought in the Vietnam War. These veterans survived but certainly suffered greatly in serving the county, and thus should be celebrated on Memorial Day.

Why should a student have to choose between visiting and supporting these persons on Memorial Day and going to class?

The University made a very poor choice in holding classes on Memorial Day. The schedule could have been such as to start classes for the first summer session on the previous Monday or extend the term one day at the end.

Professors that held examinations on Monday are also guilty of being insensitive to the importance of Memorial Day. I talked to many students who had tests on Monday. Whether this was deliberate or not, a test day gives a student less choice as to whether or not to attend. Did the guilty professors not think that some of their students might have important activties to attend related to Memorial Day? Professors are too smart for this.

I conclude that both the guilty administration and guilty professors should be charged with a felony count of insensitivity, and given an F in Significant American History.

I believe that the holding of classes on important holidays, is part of a disturbing trend. This trend is one of forgetfulness. The persons who loved and cherished those lost in the two World Wars are now disappearing themselves. Now almost 60 years later, the baby-boomerÕs fathers and mothers are leaving us forever. They are the living link to stories and memories of those persons who died in WWI and WWII.

I fear that in 20 years we may completely forget all those men and women who died for our present freedom. We risk several things when we forget the price of freedom. First, we donÕt respect the character and importance of freedom when we forget how costly it was.

Secondly, when history is forgotten, we often repeat previous mistakes.

A good example of this is President BushÕs comments directed at the tensions in China. Has he considered the many thousands of young people that would die horrific deaths if we went to war with China?

Clearly we must evaluate the present by lessons learned in the past.

We thus celebrate Memorial Day for two clear reasons. We must appreciate those from the past that have died so that we may enjoy the freedoms of the present. We also celebrate the holiday so that we remember lessons learned from past bloodshed.

I feel the UniversityÕs actions are on a slippery slope. If we begin in 2001 by not respecting the holiday that pays reference to the cost of freedom, how may we regard freedom in the future?

The cost of war is great, we must remember and respect that, or we may lose peace once more.

Craig Cox is a staff writer. He can be reached at: theapp@appstate.edu.

Activists for the legalization of drugs pursue lost cause

COMMENTARY - Kristin Davis

Two weeks ago the Supreme Court ruled 8-0 that U.S. law prohibiting the manufacture and distribution of marijuana prevents selling the drug for medical purposes. Many are calling it a setback to efforts to provide chronically ill patients with marijuana to alleviate their pain. I call it a setback to the widespread movement to legalize drugs in the U.S.

If the Supreme Court strikes down unanimously the ability of a dying person to use Òmedicinal purposesÓ as a defense for the possession and use of marijuana, then I must step back in wonder at the thousands of web sites promoting the legalization of all drugs for all purposes.

These promoters seem to be fighting a hopeless battle. While it is against my better judgment to say to them Òwhy bother,Ó it does come to mind. I am aware that laws have existed in our nation, enacted by a majority, which were not Òright.Ó They were fought against despite the ÒhopelessnessÓ of the battle and were eventually overturned. However, the legalization of substances that have detrimental effects on society and people indeed seems like a sad and hopeless cause.

One essay by Ben Johns, a promoter for the legalization of all drugs declares that the government should stop expending resources to fighting the criminal aspects resulting from drug use and start directing their funds to addiction recovery. So the government should legalize (and condone) drug use when there exists a known problem of addiction?

This same promoter writes that legalization would place drug manufacturing in the hands of upstanding companies, creating safe methods of drug use and eliminating the risks of street drugs. Street drugs and the corresponding crimes will not cease to exist because drugs suddenly become legal. Johns admits these companies would be faced with restrictions and regulations. Doing away with outright illegalization will result in hundreds of regulations that will be just as costly and even more difficult to enforce.

Another common argument I found plastered across web sites is that legalizing drugs will decrease the crime rate. Legalizing murder and theft would also decrease the crime rate, so why donÕt we go ahead and do that too? This decreased crime rate is supposed to allow law enforcement to focus on homicides and domestic disputes, but this misses the point that not all violent crimes will be prevented by legalizing drugs.

According to the 1999 Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Program, 75 per cent of male adults in New York City arrested for committing a violent crime tested positive for drug use. In smaller cities, the correlation was as high as 65 per cent. These people will commit violent crimes whether their drugs of choice were obtained by legal means or otherwise. According to a Partnership for a Drug-Free America survey, when young people think drugs are harmless, drug use increases dramatically. Would legalizing drugs not send a clear message to impressionable children that drug use is okay?

While I remain undecided on the legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes, I take a strong stance against the legalization of drugs. The arguments and supporting statistics are out there for the world to see, but they are wavering. Perhaps promoters for the legalization of drugs should direct their energies elsewhere, like advocating more programs for addicts.

Kristin Davis is a staff writer. She can be reached at: theapp@appstate.edu