Students deserve MayFest day off to preserve tradition
Eric Spina sent an e-mail to the student body Friday addressing the changes to this year’s SU Showcase. A date change and reinstatement of classes on the day to coincide with the academic theme of the day highlight the e-mail’s main points. The university’s effort to focus on the academic side of the day is commendable, but reinstating classes takes away the opportunity for the block party. The block party on Euclid Avenue is a tradition and a day students look forward to each year right before the start of finals.
The only other day off in the spring semester (besides spring break) is on Good Friday. Other universities give students a day to enjoy and celebrate together as a student body without classes, and Syracuse University should follow suit. Cornell dedicates ‘Slope Week’ to its students, year after year. Le Moyne College celebrates Dolphy Day, an annual day off that begins with a fireworks display before sunrise. Reinstating MayFest could serve the same purpose ? giving the student body a tradition it can observe together. No arrests were made during SU’s 2009 MayFest and the water stations and stop signs at every intersection were a success, so taking the day away after a MayFest without any severe incidents seems unfair.
Separating the academic initiatives and block party events can be a positive effort for the university. It can advertise SU Showcase more and have students truly appreciate the presentations of their peers on the day. But if this is the case, there must be a separate day off for students. Without another day off for students to observe the traditional block party, the student body will most likely be unresponsive to the new SU Showcase, just as it has been in past years.
The Student Association’s effort to truly be the ‘defender of students’ on this issue should be applauded. SA trying to get students their own day to observe the tradition of MayFest is the best option. This way, SU Showcase and MayFest can peacefully exist without one infringing on the other’s goals.
