Students not class-exempt on federal holiday

The question as to why IU Bloomington students have class on Labor Day, a federal holiday, arises every year.\nAnd most people who ask this don't even know the origin and meaning of the holiday, said Peter Seybold, division of labor studies director.\n"A lot of people don't know the significance of Labor Day, and the fact that it was tied originally to the fight for the eight-hour work day," Seybold said. "That's an example of something that everyone benefited from, but they don't realize that it came from the labor movement."\nLabor Day is deeply rooted in American history. According to the U.S. Department of Labor's Web site, the day is "dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity and well-being of our country." \nBasically, the holiday is in place to honor working Americans and remember their struggles for better working conditions and reforms, Seybold said.\nSamuel Gompers, the founder and president of the American Federation of Labor between 1886 and 1924, once said Labor Day should be recognized by everyone because more than any other holiday, it applies to every American citizen.\nSeybold echoed that statement but added the labor movement is not one that ended after Gompers' era, but it is still an important part of today's society.\n"I think that originally the connection to the labor movement and the effort to reform society was much clearer," he said. "And now it is more of an end-of-the-summer holiday, and its connection to the past is not very clear to a lot of people."\nBecause Labor Day is a federal holiday, classes will not be in session at most public universities. Purdue University, Ball State University and Indiana State University students will enjoy a day off from classes today. All three are public schools.\n"It's quite unusual that it's a federal holiday and it's not recognized," Seybold said.\nRichard McKaig, dean of students, said there is a calendar committee to examine whether IU has certain days like Labor Day off. The committee has been looking at the Labor Day issue, but has made no final recommendations.\n"The perspective is that we haven't had any specific actions yet by the committee," McKaig said. \nMcKaig said there have been several plans in the past to rearrange the schedule, and at one time, Labor Day was added to make up for other days off.\n"As I recall, there was a time when we were talking about taking the entire Thanksgiving week off," he said. "The idea was if we were going to take Monday and Tuesday off, we would have to replace them."\nHe also said some courses, especially those in the sciences, need as many complete weeks as possible for continuity in class.\nGraduate student Peter Seaman said he has a unique perspective on having classes on Labor Day, because he was in the work force for many years and is used to having the holiday.\n"It's kind of weird that my 6-year-old daughter is off school and I'm not," Seaman said. "But if you think about when we come back to school in January, Martin Luther King Day is a holiday. Once you start making a bunch of exceptions, where do you stop?"\nSeybold emphasized that even in today's society, the ideals of the labor movement that were the motivation for Labor Day are still valid.\n"I think it's very important to recognize that working people today have a real need for labor unions and the struggle for dignity in the workplace continues," he said. "So this is not just a holiday to honor factory workers that are unionized. It's really a holiday for everyone, and it's very much connected to our democracy."\nAnd McKaig said he can sympathize with students. \n"I'll be in the office on Monday like some others will be"