Law student David Knoespel led the petition against the school's administration, which has nonetheless scheduled classes for Monday. The private University, which was named for George Washington and Robert E. Lee, is located in Lexington, Virginia.
Nonetheless, Washington & Lee school officials decided, as per the norm, to hold courses. One student said, "It is a university that has Robert E.Lee in its name, and I think that's the source of a lot of the questioning."
A University spokesperson said that the school had planned other MLK celebratory events and said that, We believe that canceling classes is not the only way, or even necessarily the most meaningful way, to demonstrate that respect."
The University has only a 3% Black/African American student population and one student expressed the view that too many people think that Monday is "a holiday for black people, and not a holiday for Americans." Another questioned whether the University will accept the MLK holiday.
Perhaps not an oddity in the Commonwealth is that its legislature is one of the few public institutions that will be open on the federal holiday.
Why not a day of service? Like President Obama and many other universities have proposed? Or even an hour off for a University-wide celebration?
Despite being a federal holiday for 26 years, why is it that some private institutions still refuse to celebrate?
